Father-In-Law - HIATUS
by Fae 206
Summary: Kuon is living a successful life with Kyoko and their two children in Los Angeles. That is before the nearly thirty-year-old is visited by his father in law who for an unknown reason has sworn to crush his daughter's family. Will Kyoko find out the truth about her own family and what will Kuon risk to protect his? Dark Angsty Stuff. Future Set.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **I don't know why I do this to myself but one thing that I'm going to say about this story is it is going to be dark and twisted and probably contain some fantasy elements as well. I don't know/don't really care how much of the more recent manga is in this. I'm just writing it for me and because I love Kuon, like Kuon is one of the characters who makes me happiest.

**Father In-Law**

**Chapter One**

_Why are you going to be returning to Japan for your next movie?_

_Are you moving with your wife and children? Are they going back with you?_

_Are you able to live comfortably in Japan on just a contract-visa?_

_Is this anything to do with the fact that you're turning thirty next year?_

Adrenaline. That was one thing that made the chase from the police all the better. The complete absorption of all that awkward energy one feels when they are running away from the law. Adrenaline. Todd Anderson had more than that than any other gangster alive. The rugged blond checked the mirror on his car and then started it. He did a quick turn and almost threw the car into the air as he raced over the terrain and away from the police officers.

"You think you're really gonna get me, you sons of bitches," he said in a very cocky manner. His accent was of someone from the Bronx and he had the swagger that came from that area too. He laughed coldly at the police as he drove the car to the pier and then saw a boat coming. He was able to drive fast enough and with enough power and skill to land onto the boat and gave a cocky smile again as the crowds reacted with shock to his skill.

They weren't going to catch him that easily. He wasn't finished just yet.

…..

…..

"Cut!" the director called out as he looked impressed by the take that he had just seen. He smiled happily. "He does it again," he said and heard a sound from behind him. He could feel there was a presence that he wasn't used to and he hadn't been alerted that there was any guests visiting the set today. He turned to look at a very tall Japanese man who looked like he might be in a gang as well. He opened his mouth to speak and the man gave him a look showing how important he was.

"Lory Takarada, old friend of the Hizuri family and the head of the agency that Kuon used to work for," he introduced himself and the director paused.

"You really lost out on him," he said before smiling, "I think that he's going to win next year," he said and Lory raised his chin. "Alexander Masterson," the director said and Lory smiled as he saw Kuon approaching them.

"I know, we're happy that he's able to return next year to film something for us," Lory said and saw Kuon going over the next scene changes with one of the crew members. Lory smiled at Kuon proudly as he grabbed a towel and started to get the sweat off of his face. He turned to the LME president with an excited smile that captured all of his youth.

"Hi, Boss," he laughed as he patted the back and side of his neck. "A lot different than what I had been working on whilst in Japan, right?" he said before checking his phone where there was a picture of his family. Kyoko had become a famous actress and model as well and despite how the cards had been stacked against her, had actually made a place for herself in America. They also had two children. Aurora who was three and Rikuu who was six months.

"How's the family?" Lory asked as he continued to smile with pride at how the twenty-nine-year-old's life had turned out. He had the woman who he had fallen in love with as his wife. They had two young children. He was known as one of the top Hollywood actors and for good reason. He had truly earned his happy life.

"Good," Kuon smiled happily. "They're good. Kyoko's on a shoot today, some kind of lingerie ad. The kids are being taken care of by their very excited grandfather. It's really good to see you. I'm excited to be returning to Japan. I feel like I don't keep in touch with too many people over there. It's going to be interesting when I -"

"Well, I'm glad that you're not keeping in contact with too many of our LME employees. After you got Yukihito set up with a job over here for much more money but doing the same type of work. I wouldn't want you poaching any more of our top workers."

Kuon laughed weakly as he listened to Lory's words. It felt good for him to have a best friend over here, with Kotonami also moving to America, Kyoko had her best friend. Kuon did miss some of the other people in his life though, there were a lot of casual friends whom he had had to leave behind.

"Do you have plans for dinner?" Kuon asked as he picked up his phone, "There's not much time to talk right now but if you're okay having dinner at a family friendly restaurant we can do that. I'll just contact Kyoko."

Lory smiled again, "I'd love that, Ren," he replied and Kuon winked at him before holding up a finger and dialed Kyoko.

"Princess, we've got a guest coming for dinner today so I thought we'd go out to the diner. Hope you haven't made plans. You'll be excited to see who it is but I'll leave that as a surprise. Work hard today. Do your best. I love you, princess."

Kuon smiled as he finished placing the message but then his eyes widened as he realized that he had received a text message from Yashiro. That was odd. Yashiro was well aware of his schedule. Only if there had been an emergency would he text him.

'Come into the office ASAP'.

Kuon paused. There were a couple more scenes that they had to film. If Yashiro could hold still for another two hours then there would be no problem.

"I'm proud of you," Lory told him. "I've got some other people that I'm going to go visit before I meet you for dinner. I am proud of you, for everything that you've achieved. You are, hands down, the most successful member of the LME family and I know you earn double what Kyoko does and seven times as much as Miss. Kotonami."

Kuon sighed, "Just don't tell _her _that. I mean, I'm all for equal pay but you don't want to get Kyoko started on the injustices of that. I don't like taking more than my female coworkers anyway, I guess that's why some other male actors make more than me," he laughed as he awkwardly rubbed his back and Lory nodded. It was still true. Kuon was on a much higher playing field than Kanae Kotonami but Kyoko, Kyoko was the one star who could probably match him in time.

…

…..

Yashiro looked up from his paperwork and to his phone again. He had been hired by a management agency as the exclusive agent to the Kuon Hizuri product. When Kuon had started in the country, Kuu had been able to give him some tips on getting an agent who would represent him but not rip him off. Once that man had retired though, Kuon had managed to play it that Yashiro got the job and fortunately had accepted it. Although most agents took multiple clients, Yashiro did paperwork for the agency instead so he only focused on Kuon's career.

Or, he would have been focused on Ren's career had his attention not been drawn to the man who was pacing back and forth in front of him.

"So do you have documentation?" Yashiro asked awkwardly not even sure how this man had managed to get this far into the center of the agency. "They must have -"

"They let me in because I'm biologically _her_ father," the man said and Yashiro hummed. He didn't know how to interpret that. This man had claimed that he needed to speak to Kuon for the sole reason that he was Kyoko's father and Yashiro had worries that this whole thing was a setup, some kind of trap for the highly internationally successful actor to step into. Everyone already knew Kuon was bound to get an Academy Award nomination. There had to be some people wanting free money and publicity.

"Kyoko has never known her father, her father was someone who ran out on her mother before her mother even discovered she was pregnant," Yashiro said uneasily and the man looked back at him before digging some files up from his bag.

"My position has changed since then. My situation has most definitely changed," he said before Yashiro took a look at the files. He could see these were taken from some surveillance cameras from the outside of stores and it looked like a young Kuon was doing some serious damage to some gang members. It could be spun in a way to make Kuon look good. It didn't have to hurt his career if they just handled it properly.

"Trust me," the man said and Yashiro raised an eyebrow not trusting him at all, "You'll want me to meet with Kuon Hizuri," he said before hearing the door open and looked at the blond man. He pulled a gun from his bag and pointed it at Kuon with Yashiro's jaw dropped completely.

How in hell's name did this man ever get passed security?

**End of Chapter One**

**Thank you for reading**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Kuon's eyes narrowed as he saw the man holding the gun which was pointed at him. He studied the weapon before looking at the man's face and finally his fingers. He seemed pretty experienced with the weapon, this wouldn't be his first kill. As the man shot the weapon, Kuon managed to get himself out of the way with a superhuman type of speed. He got behind the man as he was trying to aim a second shot and within only a few moments he was immobilized. Kuon kicked the weapon to the side of the room and continued to hold the man in a choke hold until he knew that he wouldn't be waking up before the police arrived.

Yashiro was on the phone immediately with the police and then with the security officers. There was a chilling pause as Yashiro stayed on the phone, his face drained of color and the hand holding the phone was shaking. "I understand. I'm sorry for…I understand the grief you must be feeling. I extend my condolences."

"Your condolences?" Kuon asked as he searched for any type of identification that the man had brought with him. He pulled out his wallet but there was neither an ID or a driver's license. The man appeared to be a phantom.

"Sean was killed," Yashiro said and Kuon's eyes widened. Sean was an older security guard who had just welcomed his first grandchild a few weeks ago. He was only a year or two older than Kuu. Kuon paused before standing and kicking the guy out of frustration.

"You should have told me," Kuon said as he turned to glance at Yashiro who looked at him in shock. "I mean, you should have told me if your life was in danger. I would have gotten here a lot sooner."

"I wasn't aware that he had a gun," Yashiro said and Kuon sighed. If that was the case then he couldn't really fault his manager for acting responsibly when it came to his job. Kuon sighed before looking at the man again. He could definitely tell there was something that reminded him of his wife.

"Who was he?" Kuon asked before turning to Yashiro. "If your life is ever threatened then tell me. I don't want to hear that my best friend and manager was shot especially from a man who wanted to put a bullet into _my_ body."

Yashiro sighed and looked the man over again as he heard sirens alerting him to the police arriving. "He said that he was Kyoko's father," the thirty-five year old told the actor. Kuon looked at him again. Kyoko's father had been a cheat and a thief. He hadn't had a proper identity. He had only wanted to steal some computer files and then had abandoned Kyoko's mother who had left it too late to have an abortion and for this reason was disgusted by her. How was this man even able to contact them? Why would this man want to kill him?

"I know what you want to ask," Yashiro said as he saw the police enter, "I don't know any further information."

Kuon nodded, "If at all possible," the actor requested. "Don't tell Kyoko about this. Hopefully this will be the last we hear on the issue. Hopefully he won't attempt to contact my family again." Yashiro nodded but wondered if that was right. This was something huge that involved Kyoko. It wasn't some insignificant event. Kuon could have died if he wasn't so physically capable.

…

…

Kuon tried to put the incident behind him but it was hard to do so. He had had to give a police report about what he knew but neither he or Yashiro brought Kyoko into it. The gun they however did talk about and the fact that he had seemed to come into the building with the intention of shooting Kuon. Well, despite the bullet not reaching the target, he had fired the gun which would kill a normal person.

Kuon didn't want Kyoko to worry about that. She was going to start a short drama in a couple of days and he didn't want to cause her to be distracted by this. Since the man was apprehended by the police then it didn't matter right now. As he quietly entered the house and slipped his shoes off, he saw Aurora playing in the living room with some of her toys. Aurora somehow had his emerald eyes but both children had medium brown hair and there was a lot of shared traits between her and both him and Kyoko. He would go see her in a moment.

As he walked through the kitchen, he saw Kyoko with her back turned as she looked through some of the bills. He sighed quietly before smiling. Kyoko was beautiful. Despite the way that the media and directors preferred her to look more similar to the Kyoko she was before she started acting, she was still absolutely beautiful. She was known as one of the most popular Asian models in the market and could appear as the ideal Japanese beauty.

She had of course matured in her features and wore makeup which she loved. Her clothes were often designer outfits or things that she had customized. She had always appeared beautiful to him and that didn't change. He very quietly came over to her and knelt down behind her to wrap her up in an embrace. He saw her smile before he kissed her cheek and let his head rest on her shoulder.

"Hey," she said as she turned to him. She always had to think about how gorgeous he appeared with his natural look. She had fallen in love with him when he had been Ren Tsuruga but she had to admit that the Kuon Hizuri look was her favorite. This was the man who had made it so that she believed in love again. This was a man who had proposed to her, had married her, had been there every step of the way during each pregnancy, and the man who was as good a father as his own, maybe better with the way he prioritized time with his family. "Did you have a good day?"

"Even better now that I'm home," he said as he pressed a loving kiss to her shoulder and then went to sit in the chair opposite her. He smiled happily before taking her hand in his. "Did I tell you how lucky I am to have you as my wife?" he asked and Kyoko grinned.

"You tell me at least twice a day ever since we were married," she smiled. "I still appreciate it though but you know I have to argue. I'm so grateful and happy that of all the women who were in love with Ren Tsuruga, you picked me."

"Because you loved Kuon HIzuri just as much," he said as he gave his radiant smile which always made Kyoko bask in it a little. This was the smile that he reserved just for her. This was a smile that made her feel the love and protection he always wanted to remind her of.

"Love," Kyoko said as she squeezed his hand again. "I love just as much, well definitely I love Kuon Hizuri more. So, have you decided what you want to do for Christmas this year?" she asked since it was already November. Kuon paused and grinned and Kyoko laughed. "As long as I'm with you then we could do anything or go anywhere," she reminded him. "Thank you for making me believe in love again," she said as she tidied up the envelopes in front of her.

"You mean, what are we going to do to celebrate my amazing wife's twenty-sixth birthday?" he asked her and then grinned playfully. "I've got some ideas."

"Don't remind me," Kyoko said teasingly, "I feel so old. I'm not ready to be twenty-six."

Kuon opened his mouth to argue with her. Turning twenty-six was nothing. He was going to be thirty in February. He chuckled to himself before deciding to change the subject. "So," Kuon said as he pulled the stack of envelopes towards himself. "How was your day?"

"It went well. The shoot, the table read. I just wish that we had more time together and with the kids but at least we get to eat together and today you said that we're meeting somebody?" she asked and Kuon nodded. Kyoko couldn't help but reach out and push back some of those golden strands of hair that made him seem more like a god than a human. "I had hoped you'd come home sooner," she whispered feeling selfish for thinking that. "Did you have to do a lot of retakes? That's not like you."

Kuon took a slow and steady breath. It was for the best if she didn't know about what had happened in Yashiro's office. She would learn about Sean's death most likely but he didn't want for her to find out the connection to her father. He didn't want her to even spend a single second thinking about her father.

"I went to see Yashiro, he called me into the office to discuss something with him," he said and Kyoko nodded slowly. "It's okay. It's been sorted now."

"Hopefully," Kyoko replied. "Whatever it was, I hope that the two of you got it straightened out. You know, if there's anything that you want to talk to me abou-" Kyoko paused as they heard Rikuu's loud wails and she smiled as she stood. She saw Kuon stand too and smiled. He would always insist on taking care of the kids if he came home from work second. He was a great father so she didn't want to tell him that she'd handle it. She also loved watching the way he bonded with their children. The love she had for Kuon had destroyed anything she had ever felt for Shotaro and that included her drive to get revenge. Each day she thought about how lucky she had been. He was Corn. Somehow life and the fates and the numerous wishes that she had made had given her Corn.

Kyoko followed Kuon as he went to Rikuu's nursery and scooped the crying infant up in his arms. "Hey, little guy," he said as he kissed his son gently on the forehead. "What's wrong? Daddy's here. Daddy's got you," he said as he gently swayed and bounced Rikuu in his arms. She smiled as she watched him. He truly was adorable.

As Kuon managed to get Rikuu back to sleep, Kyoko saw Aurora rush in and wrap her arms around Kuon's leg. He looked at her, shifting Rikuu to one arm and putting his other on Aurora's head. He grinned to her before putting Rikuu back into the crib. Once Rikuu was calm, Kuon knelt down opposite the small girl.

"Daddy, you came home!" she grinned and Kuon wrapped his arms around his daughter, squeezing her close and causing her to giggle. "Mommy and I painted today," she said and Kuon gave her an excited look.

"I can't wait to see it," he said and Aurora seemed even more excited. "And you should know Daddy comes home, even if he's away working, he always comes back to you guys." He kissed Aurora's forehead and she giggled again. Turning from side to side as the smile that mirrored her father's angelic look crossed over her face.

"She's lucky to have you as a father," Kyoko said and Kuon turned to her surprised to hear that. He managed to pick Aurora up in his arms, holding her close to his chest. "I wish I had a father just like you. I love Kuu but…he's technically my father in law."

Kuon bit his lip but nodded. He didn't want to talk about the incident he had had with her father. He wanted to at least preserve that small bit of innocence she had when it came to family.

**End of Chapter Two**

**Thank you for reading**

I wonder if you guys know which fic this is a rewrite of 😉

**Thank you Kaname671 for already reviewing this fanfic**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Yes, this is a rewrite of Life By Gang Rules but with significant changes

**Chapter Three**

Kuu stood in the middle of the kitchen with a proud look on his face. He had cleaned up from where he and Aurora had made lunch together – of course he hadn't given the three-year-old much to do – and felt the relief that he was considered a major part of Kuon's family. He wasn't going to take any chances of messing up this time.

He was looking around for something to do when he heard his phone ring. He smiled as he recognized the very special tone he had set for Kuon and grabbed it immediately. Despite the family having lived in America for four years now, Kuu still wanted to get back as much time with his son as possible.

"Hey," he grinned as he pulled out a counter stool and sat down. "Kuon," he said as he breathed out that name. He was more than happy that his son had more success than him in America. He was even happier knowing that he had a loving wife and children.

"Hey," Kuon's voice could be heard on the other end of the phone, there was some hesitancy to it. "Thanks for taking care of them today."

"You never have to thank me for that," Kuu grinned as he slid his fingers through his hair. "They are my grandchildren. I find it hard not to completely spoil them but out of respect for you and Kyoko -"

"I'm sorry for cutting you off," Kuon said and Kuu could feel his anxiety. Something was wrong. He could feel that something had gone wrong. Was it the kids? Had they had an allergic reaction to something? He had tried to be so careful with them. He even kept a list of their likes and dislikes although with Rikuu, he was too young to have a lot on his list.

"What is it?" Kuu asked grabbing the phone tighter.

"Do you have some time tomorrow?" Kuon asked and Kuu could sense from the tone of voice that something wasn't right with him. "I know that you're probably busy but I need to talk to someone about something important."

Kuu's eyes lit up as he heard Kuon say that. He was the person who he wanted to share this kind of information with? He knew that he shouldn't be surprised but this meant that Kuon needed help with something. His son, who often kept everything locked up in him, wanted to talk with _him_?

"Yes, I have some time in the morning or…I can always shift some things around," Kuu offered and Kuon gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," he said and Kuu could imagine an uneasy smile on his son's face. "Tomorrow morning will be perfect. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

"Kuon," Kuu said in a steady voice, "You _never_ have to thank me for that. I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow then," he said and they ended the call. Kuu still basked in the way that he could hear Kuon say that, that he loved him. He was happy to have his son in his life but he was scared about what Kuon wanted to tell him the following morning. Hopefully it wasn't some health issue that he couldn't tell Kyoko about. Well, even if his son had a health scare, Kuu would do whatever he could to help and support his son through that challenging time.

…

…..

Kyoko smiled to the owner of the diner that the family often frequented. She had Rikuu asleep in her arms and Kuon was holding onto Aurora's hand. When the family spotted Lory, Kyoko grinned happily. "President," she said eagerly and Kuon chuckled at that reaction. The hostess brought them over the seats for the children and Kyoko thanked them as she took care of Rikuu and Kuon helped Aurora onto the seat placed next to him.

"Hello?" Aurora said uneasily. She had met Lory a couple of times but nobody was expecting her to remember him. There had been nearly eleven months passed since they had taken their last trip to Japan. They tried to go once a year but Kyoko's pregnancy had prevented her to travel and Kuon had often travelled alone to meet with various people. "I'm Aurora Hizuri," she said in English. "Who are you?"

"I see she has her father's confidence," Lory said not meaning any disrespect to Kyoko. "I'm Lory Takarada, it's nice to meet you as well," he told her and Kuon kissed the top of Aurora's head as he put his hand on her back.

"He's a very important family friend to both Mommy and Daddy," he tried to explain and Lory chuckled as he watched Kuon. Kyoko snuck a look at that eager expression and Kuon paled, not getting why Lory looked like he was going to trick them into something. "What are you planning?" he sighed.

"I'm not planning anything, you should have more faith in people," he told Kuon who rolled his eyes. "No, this smile is only because of how _you_ sound."

"How I sound?" Kuon asked as he put a hand to his chest.

"Your Californian accent came back pretty quickly despite you not using it for such a long time," he said and Kuon rolled his eyes. Having grown up near Hollywood, he did have the typical Southern Californian accent. He sounded like the typical Hollywood-brought-up celebrity and even Kyoko teased him about it from time to time. "You sound like a surfer."

"I don't think I sound like a surfer," Kuon said as he tried to not show a little embarrassment about his description.

"Corn," Kyoko smiled as she took his hand, "You know that you do," she winked and Kuon looked down, shifting a little in where he was sitting. He didn't mean to have such a stereotypical accent, it was just how he had been brought up. He couldn't change that and honestly, he didn't want to change it.

"Let's just order," Kuon suggested although he and Kyoko knew pretty much everything on the menu. He looked through the menu anyway as Lory watched him. If Lory needed to look through the menu then Kuon would too. This wasn't a fancy restaurant but it was good quality food and frequented by many stars.

Lory turned to Kyoko as he picked out what he wanted to eat. "How's your career coming along? I caught you in a few dramas but -"

"But I know, Kuon's the big movie star who comes out in all of the blockbusters and must be advertised everywhere in Japan," Kyoko said and shook her head as she saw Kuon open his mouth to protest. Lory nodded. "I've been doing a lot of modelling and runway work recently. I love all the makeup when it comes to the photoshoot and I'm a spokesperson for Covergirl. I also managed to land a contract with Sephora most recently. I do act though, it's just, there's a niche market when it comes to Asian women. I don't have the natural look that Kuon has."

"I'm still very proud to be your husband and excited for the work that you're doing," Kuon reminded her and Kyoko smiled softly. She knew that was the case and she was happy that she was able to work in the field of entertainment in any capacity but she did miss how Japan had viewed her. She had had more power there. Kuon though was accepted anywhere. He always had hundreds, probably thousands, of fans.

"I wish that you would come back to Japan," he said and Kuon gave an apologetic smile.

"Maybe I'll do some work over there when Rikuu is a little older. I find that my duties as a mother should come first," she said before smiling happily. She was pleased by her own skills when it came to her kids. Though she had been terrified when she had found out she was pregnant, the Hizuri family had helped her a lot and especially Julie. Julie was the mother figure that Kyoko hadn't bee lucky enough to have.

"I wanna meet Hello Kitty," Aurora smiled and Kuon laughed at that.

"I feel that a trip might be coming up," he said and Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

"You better believe that a trip is coming up. I'm going to want to visit you when you're filming," the actress said with finality in her voice and Kuon turned to her lovingly. He was glad that she viewed him as her equal now and not as if he were some higher being. Kuon didn't believe that their marriage would have worked out were she to view him as an immortal deity.

"So, you get to meet Hello Kitty after all," Kuon said to Aurora who grinned happily. At that point the waitress came over and took their orders. Kyoko looked over at Rikuu and very gently brushed his brown strands of hair back with her finger.

"It's really nice to have you visiting us," Kyoko said as she turned to Lory. "Reminds me of home."

Kuon felt a little itch at the back of his neck for two reasons. First, he considered Hollywood and Los Angeles his home and had really hoped that over time, Kyoko would have shared that opinion but also, home, home meant family, family meant her father and how he was determined to keep that secret from her. It was probably something that she should know though.

…

…

Kuu had woken up earlier than usual the next morning and gone out to get a few snacks and pastries and had come back home and brewed coffee for the two of them. He was obviously excited about Kuon coming over. When the doorbell rang, he jumped out of his seat and went to answer it. He smiled as he saw his son in jeans and a more casual shirt and light jacket.

"Come on in," he said and Kuon nodded as he removed his shoes and looked around the house that he had grown up in. He sighed as he followed Kuu to the kitchen and touched the still hot coffee cup. Kuu poured him some and then saw Kuon's face fall a little. "What is it?" he asked, "You can tell me anything. I won't judge."

"I met my father in law for the first time yesterday," Kuon sighed and Kuu paused and nodded as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"Kyoko's biological father?" Kuu asked before picking up a biscotti and casually dipping it in his coffee. "How is Kyoko handling this? I mean, for her own biological father to step into her life now. I'm surprised that she's being so open with you already but that's the type of relationship you have."

Kuon sighed. He wished that his father hadn't said that but it was true. Usually he and Kyoko were more than honest with each other, talking about everything important at length because both of them could sense when the other was hiding something. Fortunately, Kyoko thought the problem was a handful of retakes he had had to do.

"She doesn't know," Kuon said slowly and Kuu looked at him confused.

"So he just approached you? Told you that he was her father? What happened?" he asked and Kuon took steady breaths.

"He attempted to shoot me," he said honestly and was surprised when Kuu practically leapt out of the chair and went to the hallway, grabbing his jacket and a pair of boots. Kuon quickly followed him. He shouldn't have said that.

"Tell me where to find this asshole," Kuu said in a firm and serious manner. "I'm sorry but no one threatens to kill my son and gets away with it."

Kuon paused, "He obviously didn't succeed. Please calm down, for my sake?" he asked and Kuu looked at him before sighing and putting the boots down, hanging the jacket back up. "The police have him. He's going to prison for the death of the man he already shot….on camera…"

Kuu looked at Kuon nervously, "What did you tell Kyoko about this?"

"Nothing," Kuon said and Kuu looked at him skeptically. "I mean, I think that's best, that she doesn't know about it, right?" he asked and Kuu looked back at him with a weak smile.

"Don't you think that it's better that she knows?" he asked and Kuon looked at his dad. This wasn't a simple matter to discuss.

**End of Chapter Three**

**Thank you for reading**

**AN: **For right now I'm only writing this fic and Repeat Previous Song. If you want to attack me then go ahead but I am giving you two different fanfics to read.

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Two**

Kaname671, KrisXD


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Are you sure that you want to come into the office today?" Yashiro asked skeptically as he stayed on the phone with the famous actor. Yashiro was more than a little surprised that Kuon would come willingly into an area where someone had attempted to kill him after they had murdered an older security guard.

Kuon listened to the car phone as he approached the agency building. He was a little curious as to what had happened the previous day. He would pay his condolences to the family and then he would find out what exactly happened with Yashiro and Kyoko's so-called father before he had arrived. They hadn't had a chance to talk about that yet.

As Kuon parked the car, he saw a small crowd of people standing around outside. Most likely a small memorial taken up in Sean's name. "I'm here. There's some kind of…I think memorial going on. I'm going to get off the phone. It's more respectful if I do."

"Of course it's more respectful that you do," Yashiro agreed and Kuon quickly hung up. He moved forwards and was surprised at what he saw. There was the baseball hat that Sean usually wore, his own trademark piece so to speak, and it was placed into a box. Kuon looked over the other people's heads and saw a very timid grey kitten. This was twisted. Not only was the grey, ashy color of the kitten the same grey that Sean's hair had been becoming, the color of his eyes was the same. The kitten was mewing in distress as it sat inside that box.

Kuon paused before seeing Sean's wife – he had met her at a party for the stars of the agency – rush out. Her eyes were of course filled with tears and she had a haunted look on her face. She ran to the box and stared at the small kitten inside who dashed over to her and was meowing quite strongly as if naming her as its owner.

"This is a joke, right?" she asked as she reached out for the baseball cap and the kitten licked her fingers, pushing his head into her hand. The widow snatched the hat away from him and felt sobs wreck her body. Michael, a middle-aged guard who had been trained by Sean, held her in his arms but the kitten still wanted _her_ attention and only her attention. "The body…" the woman sobbed painfully. "How can the body go missing?"

"It went missing?" Michael asked as the kitten mewed desperately but they weren't paying attention to it. When they went inside, Kuon took one last look at the kitten who was attempting to jump out of the box but then snuck inside, nodding to Patricia who allowed him to come in. Something was off about that cat though. He had seemed to so desperately need Sean's wife's attention and _only_ her attention.

…

….

Kuon reached Yashiro's office to find his manager pacing the room and once again pushing his hand through his hair, messing it up. "Are you…okay?" Kuon asked as he very quietly closed the door behind him. He didn't know what was going through his manager's head but it seemed better to let him get it out.

"You didn't hear?" Yashiro asked in surprise. "I thought that you, of all people, would be taking notes on what's been happening," he said and Kuon blinked confused. He was supposed to be aware of what was happening here?

"You mean, the disappearance of Sean's body?" Kuon asked and Yashiro pushed another hand through his hair, completely disheveling it this time.

"Not only that. The guy who claimed he was Kyoko's father, he disappeared as well. They're thinking that he broke out of the jail cell but who knows. Nobody has spotted him," Yashiro said nervously and Kuon turned to him. A man was out there looking to kill him and that was obviously something that made him nervous but Kuon's body turned pale for another reason. The man had been able to get access to Yashiro, he could get access to his other loved ones as well.

"Could you please inform my next job that I'm going to be significantly late?" he apologized, "You can tell them about the attempted murder if that makes it easier." Kuon froze as he thought about the ones he loved. He knew that Kyoko and his mother had some self-defense training and that his father was only slightly less skilled than he was. Maybe his old age slowed him even more than that, but Shuuhei Hozu had been an extraordinary athlete and, before Cain Heel had existed, had shocked Japan with his skills.

Yashiro nodded, he knew that Kuon wouldn't sacrifice his perfect attendance record for just anything.

…

…

Kyoko leaned back as she wore the more provocative swimsuit. Her body had been touched up by makeup but they all said that she still looked beautiful. They also were very impressed that she was able to kneel down in the ice cold water as the wind blew across her body. Unlike the other models, Kyoko wasn't scared of anything and that made photographers love to work with her. She was able to do anything that she was asked to.

"Could you do a couple lying down?" the shoot director asked her and Kyoko did so, the freezing water covering her body as the waves seemed a little rough. She was still able to deliver on the poses and facial expressions though. "I need for you to change into the next outfit. These were reall-"

The director was caught off guard by a huge group of women screaming and getting excited. That probably meant one of the major stars had arrived but he couldn't think of anyone who he had booked that would create that type of a reaction. He looked to the side and his eyes widened as he saw an out of breath Kuon Hizuri. He had worked with Kuon on a number of occasions and only Kyoko could match Kuon's stamina and perseverance. To see him out of breath was a new occurrence.

"Kuon?" Kyoko blinked as an assistant handed her a towel. This was the first time since she had gone into labor during work that Kuon could have possibly interrupted a shoot. He always waited for her outside of her trailer or dressing room so as not to trouble anyone. "May I?" Kyoko asked the director who nodded.

"Corn?" Kyoko asked as she made her way over to him and put her hand on his back. "Are you okay?" Do you need to sit down? Is something wrong with the -" Kuon seemed to recover in front of her eyes in only a couple of breaths before he looked around as if a dog searching for a stick. "What are you looking for?"

"Have any strange men approached you?" he asked as if trying to sense where they would be hiding. "Has anything unusual happened today?"

Kyoko took a step back and tilted her head to the side, concerned about the way he was acting. "Strange men?" she asked before wrapping the towel around her. Ten years ago she wouldn't have had the confidence to appear in a swimsuit but now it seemed almost natural. "You told me that you were okay with the shoot and this one isn't a nu-"

"It's not the shoot," Kuon said and Kyoko could feel his panic. "Yesterday there was a man at the agency who was claiming to be your father. I didn't want to tell you," he said and Kyoko looked at him, she felt a slight betrayal as she turned to her husband of the past five years.

"And why wouldn't you tell me something this important?" Kyoko asked. She saw people trying to gather around them and then gestured Kuon to come back to her makeup room with her. She had to change into the second outfit anyway. "Don't you think that you should have _told me_?" she stressed before beginning to change as Kuon sat on the sofa. She wasn't afraid to get naked in front of him, he was her husband and the father of their children and they also had a good sex life so naked seemed normal.

"Because then I'd have to tell you what he did," Kuon whispered and pushed his hand through his blond hair again feeling the shared desperation with Yashiro.

"So, _what_ did he do?" Kyoko asked as she put on the second outfit. She turned in the mirror to get a better look at the fit. Kuon took deep breaths as he struggled to speak which Kyoko noticed immediately. "What happened with him?"

"He pulled a gun on me. He actually fired it but…."

"But you did your amazing Kuon Hizuri way of magically and physically avoiding things that would kill the regular person?" she asked in horror and he nodded. She paused as she tried to figure out the information. Kyoko stared at him looking pissed off and Kuon could see the numerous emotions in her face. "I can't believe that you didn't tell me that you could have _died_ yesterday."

"Could have but didn't," Kuon replied and Kyoko slapped him hard as tears filled up her eyes. She looked at him as he put a hand to his now wet cheek and then hugged him, crying into his chest.

"I could have lost you," she whispered feeling the pain through her body. She held onto him tightly. "You're a jerk," she mumbled and he rubbed her back as he wrapped her up close like he had so many times before. "You don't not tell your wife that," she said before looking up into those emerald eyes. She smiled as the light turned them to a burnt sienna for a moment until Kuon turned his head. "You don't leave out the fact that someone tried to kill you."

"I know. I just, didn't want you to have anything to fear," Kuon said and Kyoko looked at him. She put a hand for his cheek and he leaned down to kiss her, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "However, it's important that you know now. The police are saying that he's escaped and -"

"And so he could be looking for you or…where are the kids? I mean, you said that the president was with them today but is that enough. You should be with them. I don't know," Kyoko panicked, "Can't you take some time off work."

"I intend to," Kuon promised, "I'll just finish the contracts I'm in now and then I'll take time to be with them. My dad's going to help so we'll have someone there with them and you do know that Ruto is also here, right?" he asked and Kyoko let out a sigh of relief. There was still danger but hopefully they would have enough protection.

"Okay, I mean…as long as everyone is safe," she said before turning to rest her cheek against her husband's well-toned chest. "I'm burning with anger though. I don't even know who this guy is and he's claiming to be my father and trying to kill my husband. I'm going to take revenge on him. He doesn't do that to the man I love."

"The man whom you love is okay though, I hope," Kuon said and Kyoko almost slapped him again before putting a hand to his shoulder and stared at him with a cute frown.

"I don't know," she said as she challenged him to say something like that to her again. "Are you?"

**End of Chapter Four**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Three**

Kaname671, Kris XD

_For those of you who are like, oh this isn't the Skip Beat story I wanted updated, you can thank all of the people who attacked me for saying I was taking a break because now I'm only working on two that I really do want to work on. I shouldn't have to be called a bitch and a life ruiner for taking a short break _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Kyoko sighed as she woke up before anyone else in the early morning. She had let Kuon sleep in since this was a rare time where he could rest. She sighed as she thought about what Kuon had told her. Someone who was at least claiming to be her biological father had killed a security guard, hurt a few other people, and attempted to shoot Kuon. She would have to talk to Yashiro in person and get all the details from him as well.

Even if she didn't track this man down with the intention of ever meeting him, she could still figure out where he was so she could protect her family. Kyoko sighed as she looked through a few more pages that she had printed out, some about her mother and the law firm she had worked at. Kyoko was determined to track down this man no matter what.

Pulling up her browser, Kyoko did a search for 'Sean' and the agency name and saw numerous reports but most of them were discussing how the gun had been intended for Kuon. She knew that Kuon would hate that. These people it seemed were dead because somebody wanted to kill Kuon, it wasn't unfamiliar territory for him and it had Kyoko concerned. Hopefully Sean wouldn't give Kuon as much grief as Rick had.

As she looked at the article and then at the comments on it, her eyes caught onto one from Kuon's biggest fan and someone who Kyoko had found absolutely insane.

_Just goes to show how much of a jerk Kuon Hizuri is – Tina Mendez_

Kyoko immediately reported this comment but took a photo of it. Years ago, when Aurora was still an infant, Tina had returned to Kuon's life. She had gotten married herself, gone to a good university, started a charity in Rick's name with help from his family as well, and she was doing a job that she loved. She still insisted that Kuon should pay for the errors he made as a teenager. He had been a stupid fifteen-year-old, not a murderer.

When she had started to attack them in public, Kyoko had taken out a restraining order on her that was swiftly granted. By law, Tina wasn't supposed to be making these comments. However, Kyoko had the feeling that Kuon wouldn't have reported her. He already felt that he had taken her happiness with Rick away and despite the fact that she had a family she loved and a successful career, she wanted him to still be unhappy. Of course she would make that type of a comment.

Kyoko sighed. She wanted to get to the bottom of this. This was supposedly her father after all.

Hearing a noise behind her, Kyoko turned around to see Rikuu in his arms and Aurora following him like a duckling. She laughed and stood up as she heard Rikuu crying. "Good morning," she said as she closed the laptop and smiled at the man she loves. "Hi, everyone," she said before Rikuu started to reach out for her.

"Is it breakfast that you're after?" Kuon asked gently as he held Rikuu to him and checked his diaper. They rarely used formula for him, only when Kuon was the only one around because Kyoko had had to travel for work. Kyoko transferred Rikuu over to herself and he tried to latch onto one of her breasts. Kuon kissed the top of Kyoko's head.

"I guess it's impossible for me to take care of Rikuu in quite that same manner," he joked and Kyoko nodded before she held closer to her son. She saw Kuon turn to Aurora and hug her.

"Let's get you breakfast," Kuon grinned to the three-year-old who nodded excitedly. "You want to do that with Daddy?" he asked and Kyoko hesitated.

"Let me just get Rikuu settled and I can make us something," she said as she took a look around and Kuon grinned to her, he winked playfully.

"I think that I can cook okay. My fantastic wife taught me how to do so," he said and Kyoko nodded. She should have more trust in him, his cooking skills had definitely improved and she liked eating the food that he made. Yes, it wasn't up to the quality or range that she could cook but it was good and he tried his best to make something that the family would enjoy. Kuon was still not a fan of food but he wouldn't deprive his children of something that tasted good.

"Well, if you insist," Kyoko leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I'm going to take Rikuu into the other room."

Kuon grinned again before turning to Aurora and getting a chair for her to sit on. "Don't fall off, okay?" he asked glad for the back and arm rests which would hopefully prevent too bad of an accident. Aurora nodded and Kuon dug out the ingredients for pancakes and looked in the fridge for the fresh fruit. He only had work that afternoon and evening meaning he could spend some quality family time.

As Kuon was measuring out the flour, he heard the doorbell being rung four times and then a heavy pounding on the wall. Aurora flinched a little and Kuon squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek.

"Daddy will sort it out," he told her before calling out for Kyoko, "I'm getting it. You continue with Rikuu!" he said and before waiting for a response. He opened the door – regretting not checking who it was immediately since he had almost been killed two days prior – and looked at the woman in front of him.

"Tina?" he gasped out in surprise at seeing her there. He saw the hate in her eyes and bowed his head, she had never forgiven him for what happened to Rick and she had always maintained the opinion that he should be the one who had died. She hated his success. She hated his happy home life. She hated his public adoration.

"What did you do to him?" Tina asked accusingly, "I know that you did something."

"Did something…" Kuon said very slowly as he looked at her confused. Despite there being a restraining order against her, Kuon wasn't reacting to that. She seemed upset about something and he had no idea what it was. "What are you talking about?"

"My husband," Tina said as she eyed him warily, "The father to my children. I thought you finally understood the value of a parent but I mean, those children are half-mutants, has your wife realized that yet? That half of their blood comes from a demon, a beast?"

Kuon took deep breaths. He knew that he had wronged her in the past and Kyoko got really irritated at Tina when she went off like this but she didn't really mean it. He watched her before sighing again. "I really don't understand," he told her honestly as he stepped outside but Tina pushed him back. "What happened to your husband?"

"Well, it was obvious that you had something to do with it. You _knew_ he used to be in a gang and would beat you up, not that you deserved any different," she said with tears in her eyes. "I saw someone kill him!" she yelled at him and Kuon took a step back. "Then I wake up with a kitten on my doorstep with one of my husband's neckties around his throat." Tina said angrily as she shook with those emotions. She glared at him, obviously blaming him for what happened.

"I don't…I'm really sorry for your loss," Kuon said and Tina's anger grew at that. "I don't know what hap-"

"You're bad luck." Tina told him, "If it wasn't for my own kids. I'd kill you. The curse of Kuon Hizuri would be broken if you just did us all a favor and killed yourself but you're too self-"

"Daddy!" Aurora said as she ran to hug his leg at just the wrong moment. Kuon protectively put a hand on her head and held her close to his leg.

"So you get your happy ending!? That's all that matters to you!?" she asked and Kuon opened his mouth to explain that there were definitely many more important things than what _he _received but he was a father and a husband and a son and he had to keep living _those_ roles no matter the pain and unforgiveness he deserved. Tina crouched down so she was level with Aurora, "Do you know that your daddy murdered his best friend?" she asked and Aurora's eyes widened. She lifted her head to look at her father.

"I didn't murder him," Kuon said as he saw the tears in Aurora's eyes. "It was an accident. Yes, I caused the events that lead to his death but I have to believe that he would have forgiven me. It was an accident," he said and Aurora looked at her dad nervously. Kuon crouched down and pulled her into his arms where she stood shaking.

"You remember when we watched The Lion King, right?" he asked as Tina looked at him shocked over how he was just trying to brush off what had happened that night as an accident. "You know the scene where Simba was playing in the gorge and the wilder beast all came and they trampled Simba's daddy?" he asked and Aurora nodded with tears in her eyes.

"The sad part?" she asked and Kuon gently wiped a few tears from her cheeks.

"Yes, the sad part. Simba's daddy tried to save him, right?" Kuon asked, "Well Daddy was a little bit like Simba. He did some foolish stuff and a really good friend died because he cared about Daddy and Daddy's well-being. It was an accident but Daddy did play a part in it."

"Of course you played a part!" Tina snapped, "and don't explain this away as if you're some kind of fragile lion cub, you're a villain, you're Scar," she said and then felt a dark energy from behind Kuon. She looked up to see Kyoko standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. She had put Rikuu down in his playpen and come to see what was going on at the front door.

"Get away from my house" Kyoko whispered in a dark manner as her expression mirrored Mio's more than her natural one. "Get away from my family," she said before grabbing Tina by the hair and pulling her out of the house. Tina struggled as Kyoko threw her and her designer clothes into the mud. "I'll call the police and then you might even get thrown into prison for violating the restraining order," she said with a challenging look in her eyes.

Tina stared back at her, "How can you be married to a monster?" she asked.

"Because he's _not_ a monster!" Kyoko said, "He's my fairytale prince!" Tina scoffed at this as she got up off of the ground but Kyoko took hold of her collar. "You can think whatever you want but Kuon has done his penance for Rick's death and more than that. He deserves a happy life. He didn't physically kill Rick, it was an accident. What you're attempting to do to our family though, that's not an accident on your part."

Tina started to pull herself up despite Kyoko's tight hold.

"My husband is dead! I know that it's his fault! No one causes as much death and destruction as he does!" Tina said and Kyoko let her pull herself up before she stood back and grabbed her neck. She leaned in close before whispering to her.

"You dare to come near my family again and it won't just stop at a restraining order," Kyoko pushed her back, her eyes burning with the huge dislike. "I don't know why or how your husband died but you will _not_ come to my home and blame Kuon because I know that he has _nothing _to do with it. Now get off of our property," she said and Tina paused, she glared at Kyoko before shifting the look to Kuon.

"You will never be forgiven," she said and Kyoko made sure she left before going over to Kuon. She wrapped her arms around her husband and kissed him passionately. That kiss was all they needed to know that things were going to be all right.

**End of Chapter Five**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Four**

Kaname671, Kris XD

_Author Note: I thought I'd share one of the reviews which upset me so much._

Thank you for your note, but I think it's not nice for your readers who follow you in your fanfictions. You put us on hold? It is already very painful that the real manga does not move forward. If the fanfic authors also put: "we're done". You are unkind. You are the only reverse for some.

Admittedly, this person _wasn't _one of the ones who called me a bitch but it still affected me enough that I have complicated feelings about other updates.

Mind you, this is also the person who said that Kuon was in the wrong instead of Kyoko when he got mad that Kyoko was hiding twins from him in Our Twins. They said it was not Kyoko's fault that Kuon was angry but Kuon's for lying to her about his identity.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_Kyoko smiled happily as she placed her hand on her growing belly. She had always been against the idea of having children but when she had learned that she was going to have Kuon's – her __husband's__ – child she had been thrilled and had already been reading up on how to best raise a psychologically healthy child. She was also excited because every year the two of them would celebrate Christmas Eve and then Kuon would do something amazing for her birthday the following day. She couldn't wait to see what it was._

"_We did a lot of shopping for everyone, we'll be able to get everything packed away and shipped this weekend, right?" she asked and Kuon nodded as he drove them home. "Oh, do you think that we could go and get takoyaki from that place, I'm really craving it."_

_Kuon grinned and kissed her before telling the car the name of the restaurant and requesting the best route. His eyes widened as he saw what road it would be on and he took a deep breath._

"_What's the next possible route after that?" he asked and his eyes widened again as he saw the street name. He paused and took a deep breath in. He touched the screen and paled. The route that would avoid that road was an additional twenty minutes with traffic and he could see Kyoko getting uncomfortable. She looked at him, noticing that something was wrong with the way that he kept looking back and forth. _

"_Kuon?" she asked as she reached out to touch her wrist._

"_No. No. It's fine!" he said as he flinched away from her and something was definitely not fine. Kyoko reached out to him again but felt the baby pushing down on her bladder. She tried to hide it from him but he saw and his eyes widened. He couldn't add on additional time to Kyoko when she wasn't comfortable. It wasn't fair. _

"_Kuon, calm down, okay?" Kyoko asked knowing that they were heading into that dangerous territory and Kuon could end up frozen again just as he had after the Dark Moon car chase scene. The last thing anyone needed was for him to go catatonic. "Pull over," she insisted and he looked at her before shaking his head stubbornly._

"_I promised I would do anything in my power to make you happy. I'm fine," he said and Kyoko nodded slowly as she saw the determination. She could see that as he continued on the route, his body was becoming paler and as she reached out for him she could feel him getting colder and more shaky. She wasn't sure what was wrong but his hand felt like ice. _

_Finally they got onto a random street and Kuon just stopped. He looked like he was going into a panic attack and Kyoko could hear the line of traffic behind them. He was still driving but he had slowed down considerably and she could tell from his eyes that he had entered some strange place in his head. She couldn't see anything abnormal about this but as they got to one spot, it was as if he were gone and Kyoko managed to pull the car over to the side. _

_She watched him as he sat there as if he had become someone else. All of his strength was gone. He looked incredibly ill and Kyoko tried to turn him before he collapsed. Kyoko felt for a pulse and found him to be shivering. She knew he wasn't in any condition to drive. "It's okay," she whispered as she looked around. "It's okay, Corn. I'll drive, okay? You don't have to drive anymore," she tried to reassure him as he went into a panic attack with his head and upper body on her lap._

_He never acted like this usually. What was it about this road that had done this to him? It scared her as she saw him so weak and terrified. _

_Finally, nearly twenty minutes had gone by and Kyoko was still stroking back strands of his blond hair. He choked before she could see tears in his eyes. This was so much different than the normal Kuon Hizuri. "Rick," he said, "Rick died here," he whispered and Kyoko looked around._

_She would remember never to drive on this road again. He would never forgive himself for the death of his friend and she would never do anything to put him in this type of situation again. It wasn't funny at all how he had snapped back then and she just hoped that Kuu would be able to help take care of him for the rest of the day. _

…

…

"Are you okay?" Kyoko asked as she brought Kuon a cup of black coffee as he stared out the window. She knew that he didn't want to show it in front of the children but the memory of how Rick had died was on his mind and he was trying to ask himself whether he had suffered enough for what he had done. "She's just stupid and upset and she's…she just lost her husband. She's taking it out on you. It's not your fault."

"If it wasn't for me then Rick would still be here," Kuon told her, "I really am like Scar."

"_Scar_," Kyoko tried to stress, "maliciously flung his brother off of Pride Rock. He planned his death. He could have very easily done nothing and then Mufasa would have had a chance to live or he could have helped him. I know that even when you fighting with Taira, you wouldn't have killed him and you didn't kill Rick. We've all told you for years that it was an accident," she whispered. Kyoko sighed and reached out a hand so that she could cup his cheek.

"I love you," she tried to remind him before kissing his lips. "You're _my_ Prince Corn," she said and saw Kuon smile very weakly. She squeezed his shoulder and smiled to try to get him to smile. She didn't want to blame himself for these two further deaths either. He had tortured himself enough.

"Daddy!" Aurora said as she giggled and dashed over to him, doing a spin in the middle of it. "You're here."

"Yeah, Daddy has a few more hours before he goes in," Kuon said and Aurora smiled widely as Kyoko observed Kuon with his daughter. He was such a good dad to them.

"Can we color?" Aurora asked excitedly and Kuon nodded but Kyoko could still see him trying to distance himself from everyone. She had hoped that he would never do that to his own children. Kuon was definitely not perfect when it came to his psychological outlook on the world but neither was she and the trick was to work together to make sure neither one of them got stuck.

Ren Tsuruga had always seemed perfectly composed and a gentleman and someone who would not be considered slightly insane, he would be perfectly sane and Kyoko had to admit it, a little bit boring when compared to Kuon who had more sides to his personality than she could count. He was more of a brat than Ren was, very stubborn and opinionated and also playful and kind of a playboy. Kuon was more exciting but he was also the real side of Ren. There was still a lot of Ren Tsuruga that Kyoko could see in him but she enjoyed him being playful and childish and challenging her and making mistakes a little better.

"Of course we can," Kuon grinned before picking her up. "What should we draw?"

Aurora thought about this for a little bit, "Princesses" she said and Kyoko grinned up at them. She loved that their daughter had inherited this love for princesses that she had had. She definitely would be keeping Aurora's drawings today.

Kyoko sighed. As upset as she was at Tina, she felt empathy with her as well. Kyoko didn't know how much pain she'd be in if she lost Kuon. She needed to keep on believing that her little family would be okay.

…

…

Kyoko took a quick look back at Lory as the two of them stayed with the children in the latest generation Hizuri living room that day. She gently brushed back Aurora's hair as Aurora took a nap in her sleeping bag surrounded by pillows. "Then, Princess Aurora's eyes opened and she looked up at the charming Prince Phillip who had kissed her. True love's kiss. That was the way to break the spell. They would kiss many more times and would live happily ever after."

Kyoko gently pressed a kiss to Aurora's forehead as she finished telling her the story and made sure that Aurora was asleep. She turned to Lory as she stood up and went to sip her tea which had gone slightly cold during the story telling.

"How many do you have memorized?" Lory joked with her, switching to Japanese.

Kyoko smiled as she leaned forwards, "All of them," she turned to him, raising an eyebrow as she interrogated him. Something that both she and Kuon knew how to do by this point. "You know, don't you? I mean, Yashiro most likely told you."

"Yes," Lory nodded, "and Kuon verified it for me when he called me to ask if I'd keep closer security on the children. I have some people I could contact if you do feel that you need more security especially around the perimeter of the house.

Kyoko sighed and shook her head, "Thanks for the offer but I think that we're going to be okay," she said and Lory nodded.

"It still stands. I wasn't able to pull up a lot of information about your father through the evidence we had but I was able to determine that there's a ninety-percent chance that that was your father," he turned to her. "I also have enough evidence to be confident in telling you that he is a high-ranking Yakuza member."

Kyoko's eyes widened. She hadn't known that much. This definitely terrified her more. If a random man was targeting Kuon then she would feel more secure in her husband's abilities but to know that a gang, more than that someone from a branch of the Yakuza who had travelled internationally to seek him out, was targeting him was terrifying. He had less of a chance of surviving than being killed unless…"

"I think that if he spoke with you, there could be certain arrangements made but even that is risky."

Kyoko looked at him. It wasn't as if she could go up to one of the buildings that they owned and say that she was his daughter. She didn't even know his name or anything about him. He hadn't seemed to be a gang member in her mother's own story, just some kind of a rat. Could someone advance so quickly in just over two decades….okay, nearing three decades.

"How would I be able to do that?" Kyoko asked wanting to do anything that she could to protect her family. She looked at a piece of paper that Lory held out to her with an address and a phone number and felt her breath catch in her throat. She bowed her head. If she was going to contact him then she wanted to do it safely and Kuon should never ever know about this. She didn't want to wind up bringing him even closer to danger.

**End of Chapter Six**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Five**

Erza Tsuruga, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD

**AN:**

I know that this fic is just a rewrite of another but I really hope that it's better because I have more of a plan for it. Plus, anyone notice those cats showing up early 😉 What's going to happen in regards to them?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Kyoko nervously took another look at the top left corner of the desk drawer and put her hand on the key in her pocket. She hadn't done anything with either the phone number or the address yet and the president had already left to return to Japan. Fortunately, there hadn't been further contact between her father and Kuon but that didn't mean he wasn't planning anything.

She took a deep breath in and walked over to Aurora who was watching one of the Disney princess movies. Kuon was at work right now but he had promised to pick up the presents for their family on his way home. They had already ordered them online but Kuon had insisted that physically getting them made it more special. There were still three weeks before Christmas and despite feeling a little bit self-involved, Kyoko was also very interested in what kind of surprises Kuon would give her for her birthday.

"Are you enjoying this?" Kyoko asked as she brought Aurora in for a close hug.

"Yeah" Aurora nodded as they watched the movie together. Kyoko smoothed her hair back, thankful that she was able to give her daughter experiences which she hadn't had. She looked to the clock. It was a little disappointing when Kuon had to finish late and it was always hard to convince him to have a proper dinner by her heating it up again. She missed her husband and especially with everything that was happening recently. "Is Daddy home?"

"Daddy will come home after you go to bed tonight but he might check on you," Kyoko grinned. "You know how Daddy is."

"Yeah," Aurora nodded. Kyoko paused. It was obvious that although Aurora loved her and was happy with her family, the love that she had for Kuon was bigger. Aurora absolutely adored her father and Kyoko couldn't blame her. Even though he wasn't Ren Tsuruga, he still had that power to affect people like that. She was just lucky that he was loyal and kind and completely devoted to her.

"So, let's continue watching," Kyoko insisted and Aurora nodded. "You know you were named after a princess," she smiled, "though Daddy would say it differently."

"Yeah, he said the light," Aurora grinned and that was something that Kyoko found cute about her daughter. They had had a little difficulty thinking of the perfect name but Aurora was both a natural phenomenon and the true name of Briar Rose. It was perfect for both of them.

She was their perfect daughter who they both loved unconditionally.

…

…

Kyoko took a deep breath in as she read an article online about yet another person going missing and took a deep breath in. Was this all because of her father? What had these people done to deserve this? She went to the home page and saw that the rate of abandoned and stray cats had gone up and many of them had gone to kill shelters. Even that wretch, Tina, had taken her kitten to the shelter. It was horrific.

Kyoko sighed as she read the article before hearing a key in the lock and perked up as she heard the sound of Kuon coming into the house. She looked at the time, two hours before midnight. It wasn't as late as she had been expecting. She ran to greet him and saw the numerous bags in his arms.

"I think that's all of them," Kuon said before his attention went to the Christmas tree that they had decorated only a few days before. "Do you think we should put them under the tree?" he asked as Kyoko came and leaned up so she could kiss his cheek. Kuon smiled.

"No, just put them in the closet," she gestured before smiling. "Only a couple of gifts left," she said and Kuon took a look at the different bags. He had thought that he had gone to all the stores that he should have. He knew that he could have always had someone else get them for him but he desired that closeness with his family.

"I didn't get everything?" he asked before mentally checking off the different stores he had been to.

"Of course not," Kyoko said with a wink, "I can't have you pick up your own presents." Kuon smiled at that as he put the bags underneath the stairs. He went over to Kyoko and wrapped his arms around her, she sank into his warm chest.

"Did you have a good day, princess?" he asked and Kyoko nodded.

"How about you? How was work?" she asked and Kuon smiled.

"It was exhausting," he laughed, "still, we all worked hard and I think that we got some pretty good takes after it was all finished. Thankfully I have tomorrow off. Is there anything that you'd like to -"

"I'm spending time with Moko-chan," Kyoko said quickly and Kuon pushed his hair back. He should have remembered that but with everything that had been happening recently he had forgotten. That only meant that he could spend more time doing fatherly bonding with his children. "Is that still okay?"

"Of course," Kuon grinned. "You never have to ask for my permission."

Kyoko smiled. She _liked _to ask him but she was excited to spend time with her best…no, her second best friend. She froze and looked at her husband again. She didn't want Moko-chan to know that she had been demoted and she knew that her best friend – her husband – would never tell her that.

…

…

Kyoko smiled happily as she finished off the ice cream that she and Kanae had been sharing although it felt like she had eaten most of it. That always seemed to happen. Sometimes when she would share ice cream with Moko it was more like a split down the middle but with Kuon, he would eat a little to satisfy her but she would eat most of it.

"That was delicious," Kyoko said as she leaned back. She smiled happily as she licked her lips.

"Well, you seem pretty joyful," Moko said, "after all your husband was nearly shot the other day, mo."

Kyoko shrugged. As happy as she was that she was speaking Japanese with her friend, she didn't want to admit the fear to her that Kuon would get hurt and that with the people who were already dead, it had been her own father who had killed them. As she thought about that, she got scared that she was sitting back and letting the police deal with it. Maybe she should have given them more information though. If she had given them the address that the president had then maybe things would be going more smoothly but she had wanted to take care of it by herself.

"I love spending time together like this," Kyoko replied. "I think Kuon was able to take care of himself."

"Well, that much is obvious but it doesn't seem like you not to be panicking," Kanae reminded her and Kyoko sat very still as a cold chill ran through her. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about that right now. She wondered if Moko would judge her were she to tell her the truth.

"I…I think that….there's a deeper meaning to this," Kyoko said and Kanae tilted her head to the side. "I don't know what cats have to do with it. Maybe give some kind of companion after the body goes missing," she said and Kanae looked at her trying to think of those reasons as well. The cat seemed to be a calling card to the killer but it was such a strange idea.

"You mean some kind of conspiracy, mo?" Kanae asked and Kyoko slowed and steadied her breathing.

"Something like that," Kyoko said but closed her eyes and hung her head. She should try to get it all out and in the open. "The man…the man who killed those people…he identified himself as my biological father. The president thinks that he is but the president also told me that he's in the Yakuza, some kind of high-ranking member."

Kanae looked at her horrified as she said that. "The Yakuza!?" she whispered loudly in shock. She blinked before pulling back and trying to think through those words. "So, you're saying that your biological father holds some type of a grudge against your husband?" Kyoko nodded and Kanae stared at her wondering why Kyoko wasn't more panicked about this. Kanae definitely was and she didn't have the same relationship with Kuon at all.

"It's okay though, I asked the president if he could help me with security," Kyoko told her and Kanae continued to watch her in disbelief. Didn't Kyoko know the extent to the danger that she was in. Dealing with some psycho off the street was one thing but anyone in the Yakuza who had a position of power didn't do these things themselves, they especially didn't travel internationally to do these things themselves.

"Are you sure that's enough?" Kanae asked her horrified that those were the only steps it seemed that Kyoko had taken. "I mean, this guy is dangerous and yeah, maybe it isn't such a big deal for him to go after _him_, but what about you and the kids?"

Kyoko stared at her friend. Not such a big deal for a member of the Yakuza to be hunting down her husband and trying to kill him. Kyoko had always suspected that Kanae didn't really like Kuon that much but his safety was a concern to Kyoko. She sighed. She probably should have taken steps to change this, steps to find her father in the previous week but she had been scared of what might happen. Now she was a little afraid that she was too late already,

….

….

Kuon looked to Rikuu and Aurora who were both sleeping peacefully. He had taken them to the park earlier and had felt a little attacked when people took photos of them. He usually wasn't someone who would get nervous about camera shots but he was feeling protective of his kids. If something happened to either of them, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Kuon was cleaning up after he had spent the day with his amazing children and was picking up a few toys and crumbs. He reached under Kyoko's desk as he saw a piece of folded paper there. He opened it without hesitation and then froze as he saw the phone number and address. He hadn't expected that he would see either of those. Kuon nervously stared at the paper. Was this the contact information for the man who had threatened him and by extension, threatened his family.

Folding the paper again, he stuffed it in his jacket pocket before discarding of the trash and putting the toys back where they belonged. Kyoko hadn't told him that she had possession of this information but Kuon knew that he was a lot stronger than she was. Kyoko might be his daughter but Kuon was his target. He'd take care of this man himself.

**End of Chapter Seven**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Six**

H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **I just want to say that as a Californian Democrat (although I'm more of a Kamala Harris/Cory Booker leaning Dem), I am very much against the use of guns and am a strong advocator for gun rights but we all know that Kuon had guns in the house growing up, we also know that he fought gangs and beat them brutally, this is coming from that but I wanted to make my position on gun control and gun safety very clear. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs but wanted to share mine.

**Chapter Eight**

Kuon's fingers curled around the piece of paper as he sat in his parents' house that morning. A telephone number and an address. That was enough to go off of. He could go and talk to that man and find out why he wanted him dead. Kuon looked at the tea in his cup and saw his dad approach him.

"What do you have there?" Kuu asked as he tried to take a look at it. He was interested in what was going on. Okay, interested might not be the right word, concerned, he was highly concerned that there was a very dangerous individual who wanted to kill his child. Sometimes he could still see Kuon as the child, the little boy, he had watched grow up. _His baby boy_ who he had held in his arms when he had been born.

"Are you going to try to take it away from me if you know?" Kuon asked and Kuu raised an eyebrow. Why would he try to stop him? What had gone wrong?

"I don't think so," Kuu said honestly and Kuon took a deep breath in to prepare himself.

"It's _his_ details. I need to check this out for my family, I need to make sure that _they're _safe," Kuon stressed and Kuu stared at him in shock. He leaned forwards. Kuon had gone crazy right. He wasn't considering what might happen and what had happened already.

"Please don't go," Kuu asked him, almost begging him. "_You_ need to be safe too. Please promise me that you won't go."

"Dad, I can't promise that," Kuon said and Kuu grabbed onto his wrist.

"I can't force you to stay but I'm asking you. Even if you don't want to do me another favor, please don't go. I'm scared that if you go, you won't be able to come back. I need you to be alive," Kuu said and Kuon hated seeing the fear in his dad's eyes. He couldn't promise him that.

"I'm really sorry," Kuon apologized as Kuu looked at him feeling devastated.

"Can I see the paper?" Kuu asked and Kuon stared at him.

"I have the address and phone number still, destroying the paper isn't going to change anything. Dad, this guy is after me. You and Mom taught me not to ru-" Kuon paused, "apart from that major point of my life when I decided to go to Japan and change my entire identity, you tried to teach me to take responsibility and stand up for myself."

"This is different, you shouldn't go to this place alone. Tell the police, go there," Kuu said as he snatched the paper up and walked into the kitchen. Kuon blinked. What was his dad going to do? Kuon saw his dad whip out his phone and take a few photos of the paper. What was he doing? Why was he trying to get this information for himself?

"Dad, I'm sorry," Kuon said and Kuu shook his head. He didn't know how to trap Kuon, tie him down, reason with him. Instead Kuu looked at Kuon and wrapped his arms around his son.

"Is there anything at all that I can say or do to stop you?" he asked and Kuon shook his head.

"Trust me," Kuon smiled as he looked at his father, seeing the subtle signs of how he was aging. He could see the heartbroken nature of his dad. He knew that Kuu would give him anything or do anything in his power but Kuon had to do this himself.

"Do you want to take a gun?" Kuu asked and Kuon shook his head. Kuu wanted to persuade him to do so but he could see the resolve on his son's face. "I love you, you're my little boy. I will always love you," he said. He already knew that Kuon would escape if he tried to hold him here. He also knew that he couldn't emotionally manipulate his son. He had to let him go but damn it! He wasn't going to let him go alone.

…

…

As soon as Kuon was out of the house, Kuu looked down at the paper that Kuon had left behind. If only there was a way to hack into his phone, get some kind of virus into it that would destroy all of his data that he hadn't backed up. Even though there were numerous pictures of his grandchildren that would be destroyed, Kuon's safety was most important. Kuu hesitated. Telling Kyoko was best but he wouldn't be sure of her reaction.

He dialed her, he would call the police second and give them this information. He could hear his grandchildren playing happily in the background without any idea of what was happening with their father. He needed someone to find him before he got there. He needed for someone to at least talk some sense into Kuon and how he needed to be alive for his family.

They could have figured this out together but Kuu had seen the look in Kuon's eyes and realized that he wouldn't have been able to stop him. Kuon was resolved that as soon as he exited the front door, he would go to that location.

"Hello, Father," Kyoko said as she answered the phone in an optimistic way but she could hear the pained breaths that Kuu was taking.

"Do you have the address?" Kuu asked and Kyoko paused. What was he talking about? "I…is there someone who could watch the children?" he asked and Kyoko paused.

"I could take them to Yashiro-san, yes," she said slowly before her voice showed the tense emotions. "Please don't tell me that he has the paper," she said panicked, "the information. I didn't back it up anywhere. It's on the paper…" she said before starting to lead into a panic attack.

"I've got the paper. I'll send you a picture. I'm leaving once the police have been contacted but he decided to go by himself," he said and Kyoko felt the pain deep inside of her. She had had that paper for nearly two weeks and hadn't done anything with it. _She_ should have called the police and told them but she had hoped to have gotten this resolved for herself. She thought that if only she could contact him it would have been easier.

"Thank you, Father," Kyoko said sounding absolutely terrified. He wouldn't do something so stupid, would he? No. Ren Tsuruga probably wouldn't have done this but if it meant that he felt he was providing his family with security and protection, Kuon Hizuri would _definitely_ do it.

Kuu took slow breaths before getting his leather jacket with large pockets on and getting good athletic shoes on before dashing out of the house whilst calling the police at the same time. He plugged in the address to the car's navigation system and took out his gun from the hiding place in the car. Yes, he tried to be a pacifist but if there was anything that Kuon's childhood had taught him was that sometimes you needed to have a gun for your own protection, especially if your son was going around and challenging gangs.

Kuu finished giving the information to the police before driving the car in an attempt to catch Kuon before he did anything too stupid. Kuu's eyes widened though as he saw the huge mass of traffic in front of him and as he tried to reverse, he found himself to be blocked in. He could only pray that Kuon was facing this same traffic situation.

…..

…..

Kuon had not been facing the same traffic situation and had been able to locate the building and slip inside quite easily. He was skilled at doing these things even if nobody would believe that the mild-mannered Ren would do it. He felt his breath rise and fall as he entered through a side door. Taking deep breaths in he heard a voice coming from the ceiling, there must be some kind of speaker and camera system up there.

"Hello, Kuon Hizuri," the man laughed. "Congratulations on making it this far into the game but it'll soon be over. You'll soon be able to bring me what I want."

Kuon looked around, suddenly it seemed a lot darker but he could adjust his eyes to the darkness. This was just like how he had trained his body to not sweat in the extremely hot weather which he had filmed in as Cain Heel. He just had to make sure that his breathing was even and he wasn't drawing unnecessary attention to himself.

"My death?" he asked. "Is that why you killed all of those people?" he asked, "because you wanted some petty revenge?" Kuon looked around. Something seemed strange about this corridor. He reached a hand out and his fear was confirmed. The walls were getting closer and closer. They were attempting to murder him by squeezing him to death. Kuon looked around desperately before spotting a door.

That was his only option. It was obviously a trap, a trick but maybe it was something that he could use.

"Are you an idiot?" the man, Kyoko's father laughed, "It's not you I'm after. I couldn't care less about you. It's her and the power inside of her."

Kuon managed to open the next door before gas started to fill his lungs and he wound up choking and dropping onto the ground. He hadn't expected that and despite all he had been through, he could still be gassed to death like an animal. He looked around desperately before feeling a very sharp pain in his side as someone kicked him onto the ground. Kuon tried to get up but his body was too filled with this substance and then he felt something get injected into his body. He couldn't pull away from them.

They were giving him a lethal injection, right? Something he could never survive. He couldn't even get closer to Kyoko's father in order to warn him to back off. He shouldn't have done this alone knowing the power that he had. He had failed because he had been an idiot and he wondered whether they would even allow his body to be found.

Suddenly a white light engulfed him. Was this what death felt like?

…

…

Kuu felt panic in his body as he arrived at the location at the same time as Kyoko. She should have been here later than him meaning that he was running behind. It would be hard to stop Kuon from doing something ridiculous. Kuon needed to keep his head. Kuu's eyes widened as he saw Kyoko coming closer to him.

"Father," she said as she put a hand on his chest. "Have you seen him?" she asked and Kuu shook his head. Kyoko looked around and then pointed in the direction of some buildings that were in the shade. "I'm going to go talk to him, you go that way," she said and Kuu opened his mouth to argue with her.

"I doubt that he'd want to kill me," Kyoko said, "Most likely want to reason with me. You search for Kuon, try to stop him before he gets into too much danger."

Kuu stared at her, "I think I should be with you. Kuon would want me to be with you," he said and Kyoko shook her head.

"If we split up, we have a better chance of stopping him and saving his life," she told him and Kuu hesitated again but he couldn't argue that what she was saying didn't make any sense. Nervously, Kuu nodded before stepping into the shadows. As Kyoko approached the main door though, she could see a man approach her. She would definitely say he seemed like a mob boss.

"Ah, my daughter," he said with a smile before nodding as he saw how angry she was. He looked above her head at where a couple of remaining grudges had popped out. Just like Reino, he was able to see them. "What a pleasant and expected surprise."

"I've come for my husband," Kyoko said as her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "You want _me_, not Kuon. I know that," she spat out feeling the pain through her body. "So tell me what the hell you want to ask me or talk to me about. I'm getting tired of these games."

Her father smiled before clicking his fingers and one of the henchmen threw the twenty-nine-year-old's body down onto the ground as if he were a ragdoll. Kyoko's eyes widened. She had only seen a dead body a couple of times but this was what she recognized as one. Kyoko felt the pain in her chest as her eyes filled with tears at how crumpled up his body was. "Kuon," she whispered pained. She shook her head to the darkness begging Kuu to stay still.

Kyoko went over to Kuon's body but couldn't feel the heat from it, she couldn't feel his heart or his breath. Kyoko felt her wrist being pulled back and her father looked at her, seeing the intense pain of losing her husband.

"Let out those demons," he said. "Take her inside," he ordered and Kyoko tried to get Kuu not to move. She knew that they would shoot him and kill him just like they killed Kuon. Once they had left. Kuu nervously walked over to the crumpled corpse of his son. How had they been able to do this already? How long had Kuon been here?

Kuu felt his own fear as he stroked back his son's hair. Kuon had been stupid but Kuu was stupid too for letting him go. He could only trust that that man didn't want to murder his own daughter. Kuu could hear the sirens in the distance but as he continued to stay with his son, Kuu noticed his body starting to change and transform until it disappeared.

He couldn't even bury his own son? Was that the cruelty that he would have to live with for the rest of his life?

**End of Chapter Eight**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Seven**

Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **I have a long (and early) day tomorrow at work so thought I'd update two chapters today instead of one today and one tomorrow. Plus I've been excited to write this chapter since the beginning of the fic.

**Chapter Nine**

Kuu stared horrified at the pile of clothes that his son was wearing before his body completely disappeared. His eyes widened in shock as he tried to control his breathing. How could this have happened? What was he supposed to do about this? He didn't have any proof except for the knowledge that the corpse had been there. He couldn't breathe. The pain of losing his son was too much for him and he just pointed to the building. "My daughter in law is in there," he said, "Please be careful of her."

The officer nodded before approaching quietly, that was until there was a loud explosion and the building looked like it was on fire. Kuu sat there, wanting to move towards where the danger was coming from but he couldn't move.

His son couldn't have just disappeared like that. He had to bury or cremate the body at least. He had to honor Kuon. Kuu felt the stillness and the silence and closed his eyes. He had failed his little boy. Taking the wallet and keys and other personal possessions out of Kuon's pocket, Kuu heard a faint squeaking sound from under the clothes.

He felt something moving and took weakened breaths. What was this? He very gently lifted up the shirt before seeing a squeaking infant kitten. "Kuon," he whispered as he noted how this kitten seemed younger than the other ones. He carefully lifted the little baby cat up in his hands, his eyes widening as he examined him. He felt sick to his stomach as he thought about all of those other kittens who had been put in shelters. Those people who had put them there were sacrificing their loved ones. He wasn't going to do that to his son.

He picked up one of Kuon's socks needing something to wrap around the tiny ball of fur. "I've got you," he whispered as he heard the mewing. "Daddy has you," he said and the kitten turned back to him with the same emerald eyes Kuon had. The kittens fur had various swirls of different yellow in it but he was more of a butter yellow color. "It's okay," he said not knowing how Kuon's mind was working but he knew it was his spirit inside of the kitten at least. "It's okay," he repeated as he slipped the tiny animal into his jacket pocket on the left side of his chest. "It's okay," he whispered for the third time. "You're safe."

The tiny cat looked up at him and Kuu felt tears in his eyes at how helpless he looked. If Kuu hadn't been there and they had just assumed that Kuon was dead then this kitten might have died from not being able to protect itself against the harsh elements and predatory animals.

As Kuu stood there, a man eyed him and Kuu felt a protectiveness in him as he made it so that the sock was hiding the kitten from the other man. Kuu's eyes narrowed until he was glaring at the other man with the same intensity that Kuon held during these times. He wanted to murder him, murder anyone involved in this, but the tiny kitten was keeping him from doing that. Kuon needed to be kept as safe as possible.

"Are you with the police?" he asked and Kuu stood there very still, his eyes focusing on the man in a manner that said that he would want to try to slaughter him. "Uh, guess not?" the man asked slowly before kicking Kuon's clothes and Kuu put a hand to his chest for a moment but then looked at the other man taking a step forward.

"Will you please show some respect for my son," Kuu growled out. "He's gone. He's dead. I can't protect him but I _can_ protect his memory."

The man started trampling on the clothes and Kuu's eyes narrowed. If he hadn't found Kuon this man would have trampled him to death. Kuu was just glad that Kuon was being quiet and wasn't bringing attention to himself. Kuu could see Kyoko alive and talking to the police as they were taking some men under arrest and saw the police officer approaching the man opposite him.

Kuu stood there before seeing Kyoko break down. She had a very weird energy to her but Kuu couldn't risk Kuon's safety. He couldn't tell her yet.

…

…

Kuon felt sick as he finally gained consciousness. Was he dead? His body felt cold and small and the darkness seemed to go on forever. He felt that he had been stupid and finally his stupidity had caught up to him. He felt various rocks around him as if he were in a cave and something heavy was on his head but it was slowly lifted up. Had they decided that he'd repented enough to go into heaven? He didn't know whether he had believed in heaven and he had definitely never felt that he deserved it but had he been wrong.

He tried to call out but all that he could hear were squeaks as if he had been turned into some kind of toy. He put a hand out and his eyes widened as he saw the furry little paw where his hand had been and the furry little kitten leg which was the same kind of golden color as his hair. Was he a cat?

He felt so sensitive, his eyes felt sensitive, his nose was sensitive, and he could finally feel the ears atop his head. He wasn't just a cat. He was a kitten. He was a kitten and a kitten was defenseless. He'd have no chance of defending himself. They could kill him just by dropping a heavy book on him.

Kuon could hear noises but his squeaks and his fear made it so that he couldn't understand what they were saying. Were they really going to torture a kitten? He saw a hand that was about the same size as his whole body and attempted to move away from it but couldn't get up onto his legs. The hand slid under him and Kuon tried squeaking in fear.

Why couldn't he move? He knew he couldn't attack and would have to work on defense but he couldn't move and his belly felt strange, that too was sensitive. The man reached forward and picked up one of his socks and then slipped him inside of it. Drowning? Were they going to drown him in his own sock?

"I've got you," he heard a familiar voice say, "Daddy has you."

Kuon turned back and looked at his father. So his dad had followed him here? Kuon tried to call out for him again but it was just the tiny mewings of an infant kitten. However, his dad had said 'Daddy' and so he knew. He _had_ to know. He looked up with his sensitive eyes at his father and saw the pain and heartache on his face.

Kuon had never felt more afraid. He had always been able to protect himself even as a little kid but someone could easily suffocate him. He wasn't able to protect himself even from the simplest of attacks. "It's okay," Kuu tried his best to reassure him. "It's okay," he said as he managed to get Kuon completely into the sock whilst giving him an opening to look out of. "It's okay," Kuu repeated again as he managed to slide Kuon into the chest pocket of his jacket and somehow it felt warm and safe being so close to his Dad's heart.

"You're safe." Kuu told him and Kuon believed that. He should have listened to his dad from the beginning. He knew, however, that kitten or not, Kuu would protect him with his life. It was what his father always did. He had been so stupid to go there alone and think he was invincible.

He heard someone else approach his father so snuggled up where it was safest and – not able to control himself – he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

…

…

When Kuon finally woke up, he could see the moon and realized that he had fallen asleep for longer than he had expected to. He was in the middle of the city and as he looked up he could see the sign for the police station. He mewed and immediately saw his dad's exhausted face gazing down at him.

"Hey," Kuu said to his pocket and the baby kitten inside. "You woke up, we're almost ready to go home," he said and Kuu turned to Kyoko who was staring at him as if he had gone insane to be suddenly talking to his pocket.

"Fa-" Kyoko began before feeling the pain in her chest. Her father had killed her husband and despite the fact that she had accepted Kuu as a parental figure for so long, she didn't want to call him by that name knowing who she was actually related to. "Are you okay?" she asked before shaking her head. No one in this family would ever be okay again without Kuon there to show them the light.

"I can show you when we get into the car," Kuu said and Kyoko bowed her head.

"My husband is dead, Kuu-sama. There's no chance of things being okay. I'm sorry that I asked you such a stupid question," Kyoko felt the hollowness in her chest and let the tears stream down her cheeks. "Did you…did you take his wallet?" she asked as she tried to maintain her composure.

"I have his wallet," Kuu said as they moved to the car. "Listen, I don't think we should share this news just yet," Kuu said before sitting down and Kyoko turned to him. She had already told the police that Kuon was dead and she knew that Kuu had said something to a similar extent. Kuon had been or would have been nominated for an Academy Award were he alive. The death of an actor of his caliber would be news that everyone would hear about whether they had ever met him or not. The news would most likely be taken even worse in Japan where they still treated Ren Tsuruga as _their_ actor.

"People will know that my husband is dead, Kuu-sama?" Kyoko asked as she got into the driver's seat though she felt little motivation to do anything but stay in bed all day and cry or go out and kill people and get revenge for what she had lost.

Kuu got into the seat before pulling out the tiny kitten from the sock. He only looked about three-weeks old at the most. "Take him," Kuu said and Kyoko stared at the kitten with tired eyes. "You should be the one to stay with him. You should be the one to take care of him."

Kyoko looked at the kitten and then turned to Kuu as if he was mocking her. So he had somehow found a kitten with Kuon's coloring and his amazing emerald eyes. Was he kidding her? Of course they had a plethora of kittens which they used to mock the loved ones of the deceased. This was just another one of _those_ kittens.

"A kitten who looks like my late husband?" Kyoko asked with a raised eyebrow. She saw the kitten try to reach up for her but she didn't want to interact with it. She didn't want to buy into their lies. "I can't," she told him and Kuu stared at her shocked. "I can't take care of it."

"Him," Kuu said before he picked Kuon up and set him in his lap, making sure that he would be protected during the car ride. "This is Kuon. This is what they are doing to the people they supposedly murder."

Kyoko looked at him with a pained expression. "I'm not saying that you need to stop looking after the kitten but listen to yourself, Kuu-sama. I don't want to be reminded of Kuon when he's gone, when he's not coming back. I don't want the kitten. I want my husband."

"He _is_ Kuon," Kuu stressed and Kyoko shook her head, tears in her eyes. She didn't believe him. Her husband was dead and no amount of pretending would bring him back.

**End of Chapter Nine**

**Thank you for reading**

**AN: **Kyoko's conversation with her dad will be at the beginning of Chapter Ten


	10. Chapter 10

Kyoko felt the horror and the sting of having seen Kuon's body not only as a corpse but treated with such disrespect. He had wanted to solve the issue and instead he had died and they had just thrown him onto the ground as if he were trash. It really pissed her off but she had other things to focus on. She tried to block out the knowledge that Kuon was gone, just for this time when she was talking to this monster.

"You look upset, is something wrong?" the man before her asked mockingly, "You know that he had to be disposed of."

"You have no right to talk about him!" Kyoko barked back as she felt the anger build within her. She looked around the warehouse and saw that there were numerous weapons and access to drugs around. There were malnourished kittens as well. So, his calling card had been the collection of kittens that he left behind. "He didn't deserve to die!"

"He was insane," her father said and Kyoko felt herself shake. Who was he to talk about Kuon in that manner? "I've heard so many things from my colleagues about how much of a deranged monster he is," he continued and Kyoko's glare deepened. She felt her grudges starting to come out. "You can call me Akira," he said with cold eyes, "or Daddy if you prefer."

"You didn't need to kill him!" Kyoko snapped and heard her father laugh.

Akira leaned forwards, "He had a bounty on his head, besides there were other things. I wanted to rid the world of someone toxic and I found him, what a coincidence that he was actually related to you," he said and Kyoko wanted to attack this man. She felt a depression that she had never felt before, the dark grief of losing the person who meant most to her. Her entire body started to shake.

"Your anger is delicious," Akira said before laughing at her mockingly, "You must be pretty stupid to have fallen for a monster, a fool like him, it's better that he's dead."

Kyoko felt the tears in her eyes as she remembered all of the important moments that she had shared with Kuon. She thought about how he wouldn't be there to celebrate birthdays and other important events. She thought about how her children didn't have their father to support them with their future goals and dreams. He was a good dad. They had had a good family.

"Are you thinking about how foolish that as-" Akira smiled and Kyoko felt her grudges swarm around her as she felt how powerful she was. She felt her pain turn into the dark aura despite hearing the sound of sirens and saw the underlings flee. She would let them go. It was _this_ man she wanted.

Having this deep hate made her grudges more powerful and as they came out there was the sound of an explosion and it felt like her own dark magic. There was fire and the grudges had already done a lot of damage. She wanted revenge which far exceeded the revenge she had wanted on Shotaro.

"I'll never forgive you for this!" she yelled as she struggled not to completely obey the dark aura.

Her father chuckled. "I was hoping that would be the case."

**Chapter Ten**

Kuu looked at the tiny ball of fluff as he put Kuon in the shoebox. He was safe, right? They believed that he was dead, didn't they? Kuu gently let his finger brush against Kuon's head right behind his tiny ear and heard the mew from his son. "Hello, little one," he said and Kuon continued to mew. "I'm sorry," Kuu apologized. "I know that you're my son but I don't know how to handle this," Kuu said. "I want to help."

Kuon yawned as he stared at him, his mind being a little foggy but he had to remember that this was his father and Kyoko was his wife and that he had two adorable children who he didn't know how to be a father to in this condition. He couldn't even talk to his father.

"I'm sorry about Kyoko," Kuu said since Kyoko had completely rejected the idea that the kitten was Kuon. He felt terrible for his son that his wife hadn't accepted him but it was a very hard thing to accept. Kuu wanted to go to the vet store. He knew Kuon needed something and he wasn't able to drink the water that he had given him or eat any of the food. Kuu wasn't even sure how many teeth he had .

"What are you doing?" Julie asked as she came to the door of the bedroom, her eyes completely red and stained with tears. She was shaking and her face showed the silent mourning that a loving mother would have. Julie shivered and started crying and Kuon made another mew wanting to make contact with his mother.

Julie walked over to the shoe box that Kuon was in and stared at Kuu. "A kitten?" she asked before staring at the infant cat. The kitten was so tiny and so defenseless but was it just another calling card. The cats all resembled the lost victims. This cat had Kuon's hair color and Julie froze as she looked into those emerald eyes that would captivate anyone.

"Kuu," she asked as she reached for his arm and Kuu sighed, "What's going on?" she asked nervously and Kuu looked back at her sadly. "It's…this means that he's gone, doesn't it?" she asked and Kuu shook his head.

"Kuon isn't gone," he said and Julie froze. She opened her mouth to argue but then shook it. She didn't want to have false hope. "He's right here. I saw it myself, he turned into a kitten. I just don't know how to take care of a kitten this young."

"This is…Kuon?" Julie asked slowly as she looked at the infant kitty. "Kuu," Julie said as she put her hand on his back and stared at the cat and heard it's mewing. Her eyes filled with tears and she sat down next to Kuu. "Kuon?" she asked and the kitten mewed at her, the small meow sounding a little like 'mom'. Julie put a hand to her mouth. "Baby," she whispered with a few tears down her cheeks, "Meow three times if you're Kuon," she said and Kuon mewed three times making Julie sob even more.

"You don't have to be a part of this," Kuu told her and Julie glared at him wanting to slap him. She reached out for the tiny kitten and felt Kuon crawl onto her hand.

"Hello, baby" she said and Kuon looked at her sadly. "I love you, my son," she said as she held him to her chest. "How old is he?" she asked as she gently pet the tiny infant and looked at Kuu knowing that they would do anything to help him.

"He's about two, three weeks old?" Kuu said sadly and Julie stood, placing Kuon back in the box.

"A three-week-old kitten can't handle solid food," Julie said and Kuu looked at her feeling guilty that he hadn't known that. He just thought that cats ate fish and with Kyoko refusing to take care of him, Kuu hadn't had the time to research this. He turned to Julie who sighed. "I'm going to go and get him some formula and a bottle so we can feed him," she said.

Kuu shook his head, "I'll go and get him what he needs," he said before putting a hand on Julie's shoulder. "You stay with him. How soon does he need the food?" he asked and Julie paused. She only knew a little bit about cats from the family pets she had grown up with. She heard him squeak again and her eyes filled with tears.

"Ideally every three hours," she said and Kuu nodded slowly. It had been far longer than three hours since the transformation and that much strain must have made him feel very weak and hungry. He hadn't been taking care of him after all."

"I'll go get him everything he needs and be back as soon as I can," Kuu said and Julie turned to the tiny Kuon. She brushed her tears away before looking in the cupboard and found a set of leggings. She had only done this a couple of times before but she knew how to make a sling for a kitten. It would help her bring Kuon with her. She needed to talk to Kyoko but she wouldn't leave the house. He needed to be warm and she wasn't going to risk anything when it came to her own son.

"I hate them, Kuon. I hate them for doing this to you," she told him honestly but then let her fingers brush through his fur. "I'm not going to let them get away with this," she tried to promise him and then found a towel that Kuu had bought her. "Let's make a purrito," she said as she very gently brought him to the hand cloth. She lay him on his back very carefully, letting her finger graze against his belly. He was adorable but he wasn't human any longer. Things shouldn't have worked out this way.

…..

…..

Kyoko looked at Aurora knowing the special bond that she had shared with her father. That bond wasn't something that would be there any longer. Kuon was dead and Kyoko didn't know how to explain that to her. She felt the emptiness of the house and the loneliness and she felt her heart yearning to be close to someone who cared for her but she wouldn't have that ever again.

Kuon was dead.

As much as Kyoko had wanted to believe in something else and be as delusional as Kuu, Kuon was gone and his soul wasn't inside of a cat. Kuu was grieving and this was a fairytale he had to hold onto. Kyoko knew a lot about fairytales. Aurora knew a lot about fairytales.

Kyoko walked over to Aurora who was coloring a picture and gently stroked her hair back. "Baby, Mommy has some really bad news," she said and the three-year-old looked up innocently. Was there even a way that she would understand what had happened. It wasn't as if they had talked about death in the past. It wasn't as if Aurora really understood what goodbyes meant.

Kyoko paused before hearing her phone ring and saw that it was Julie calling her. She had told her mother-in-law that Kuon was dead, Kuu was being delusional and _someone_ had to break the news to her. Kyoko picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Kyoko asked as she tried not to cry in front of Aurora but it was hard. Her father had killed Kuon and the Hizuris had lost their child because of her ancestor. She felt so much guilt. "Julie?"

"Bring the kids over here, we should be together," Julie tried to persuade her and Kyoko felt her breath catch in her chest as she tried to figure out whether that was the best move that she could make. "I know it's difficult but if you're near Ku-"

"That cat is not Kuon," Kyoko said firmly, "Don't tell me you're buying into father's delusion."

**End of Chapter Ten**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nine**

Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **More about her father next chapter. Also, since I stopped writing as much Skip Beat I actually didn't have such a bad reaction to the latest chapter. I mean, I will start writing more but I need to do it at my own pace. A couple stories I really love though include Kuon and My Sensei. (I also like The Little Prince, Our Twins, and Study of Life but if I feel pressure to write those I won't).

**Chapter Eleven**

Julie couldn't sleep. She looked around at all the things that Kuu had bought, all the items that the woman at the pet store had told him were ideal of a kitten of Kuon's age but Julie's heart still broke as she looked at the tiny Kuon. "Hi, baby," she said as she heard him squeak. "It's been three hours again, Mommy needs to give you your bottle."

Julie let her hand slide under the tiny body and she put the dripped for the bottle under Kuon's tiny gums and her heart felt a twisted sense of happiness as she saw the tiny kitten drinking his formula. It reminded her of when she was nursing him as a baby. "You drink as much as you can, all right?" Julie asked as she brushed a finger along the top of his head.

Julie turned and saw Kuu staring at the two of them with a lot of concern in his expression.

"How is he doing? His temperatures still okay? He's eating enough, right?" he panicked and Julie nodded before wiping her tears away. She saw Kuon pull back from the bottle and put it down, taking a cloth and wiping his tiny mouth. Kuu stood up, going to see the tiny kitten as he was put into a purrito and then into the bed. He saw Julie place a hand over her mouth as she attempted to stop her sobs.

"He's so defenseless," she commented as she let her finger go over one of his ears again.

"He'll grow quickly," Kuu replied in a pained manner and Julie stared at him. No matter how quickly he grew, Kuon was still living his life as a kitten. There had to be some kind of cure but neither of them knew where or how to start looking for it. "He'll be able to transition to some wet food soon."

"This is our _son_ you're talking about," Julie said as she turned to him with widened eyes and Kuu nodded. Of _course_ he knew that this was his son, he had seen them attempt to kill him twice, he had seen him transform and was just lucky enough to grab him before they stomped on him. "You sound like you're talking about a cat."

"I…" Kuu looked down in a pained manner. "Julie, he _is_ a cat," he said and Julie frowned. She knew that Kuu was correct, there was very little she could argue with when it came to that. However Kuu would always see him as his son. The species didn't matter, he was Kuon's father and that was one of his main prides of life. It was trying to figure out how to deal with this which was the problem.

…

…

Kyoko sat silently as she looked at some pictures of herself with Kuon. She saw the pictures from their wedding day where they had picked a main picture in the frame but there were four smaller pictures around it, one of them was her and Moko, one of them was with Kuon with a few of his friends, one of them was them with the Hizuri parents, and then there was a picture of the two of them kissing. It seemed a really magical day for her but that was gone now. It was over and it was because of her that it was over.

The kids were in bed now and Kyoko worried that she hadn't been able to explain well enough that Kuon was never coming back. He was dead. She was a widow and she had seen the dead body of her husband thrown down in front of her. That was most sickening to her. She had seen his body thrown down as if it was trash on garbage day.

Kyoko wrapped her arms around her knees again and sobbed.

This was all because of her. It was all because of her family. He hadn't wanted Kuon and he wouldn't have killed him if it wasn't for her. She closed her eyes. Those warm arms which would hold her in bed, that breath at the back of her neck as he kissed her, the way he would always ask her how her day was. All of that was gone.

She curled up into a ball feeling broken and defeated. He was gone. He wasn't there with her any longer. She missed him. She would always miss him. Every birthday and holiday where he wasn't there, she would miss him. He wasn't able to see their kids grow up. He was never going to turn thirty, he would always stay at twenty-nine even when _she_ turned thirty. She wanted him. She wanted Corn.

Kyoko heard her phone buzz and she picked it up. Her eyes widened and she felt her anger build as she looked at the picture. Why was Kuu-sama sending her more photographs of the kitten. She felt angry. A kitten couldn't replace Kuon. She would try to bring the kids round to their grandparents the next morning and tell Kuu to stop it with the kitten pictures.

He couldn't be so delusional as to believe that Kuon's spirit was in there, could he?

…

….

Kuon sniffed the air as he stayed wrapped in the blanket that Julie had given him. When he had woken up, he had hoped that he would be in a human body but no. As far as he knew, he would have to be a kitten for the rest of his life. He could hear sounds and squirmed inside the blanket. He wasn't strong enough to break free of it. 'Mom! Dad!' he asked wanting their help since he felt unable to do anything but only slightly louder mews came out.

"Hey, hey," Kuu said as he went to the box, "Are you hungry?" Kuu asked as he placed a finger to Kuon's tiny cheeks, mindful of his whiskers.

"I don't feel that I'm able to talk about it" Kyoko's voice could be heard in the distance and Kuon's eyes widened and he looked around but still couldn't get up and so mewed loudly.

Kuu gently unwrapped the blanket they had put him in and saw him stumble on his paws. Kuon tried to get up. He wanted to get to Kyoko and he went to the side of the cat bed that he was in but he didn't have strength to jump over the side. He struggled to climb over, his feet moving awkwardly and his balance definitely off. Despite having the feeling that letting him struggle was best, Kuu gently picked Kuon up and set him in the sling they were using.

"Stay right in there," Kuu said as he played with the fur on top of Kuon's head. He saw the emerald eyes looking up at him and made sure that Kuon was secure. Kuu made his way downstairs with Kuon's tiny body placed securely in his arms. He stopped as he faced Kyoko and Kuon poked his head up wanting to see his wife.

"Will you stop it with the cat already?" Kyoko asked as she looked at them the grief and heartbreak weighing her down. Kuon tensed as he saw the pain, he hadn't meant for her to feel this. He hadn't asked to be transformed into a cat. It had just…happened.

"You have to accept the facts sooner or later," he said before turning to Julie since they had both requested the day off after the media had reported the information regarding Kuon's death. "Julie, can you take the children in the other room?" Kuu requested and Julie did so.

Kyoko stared at Kuu before turning to the kitten in his arms, she frowned and looked at him firmly. "That's not Kuon," she protested and Kuu looked at her as if asking her if she was serious about this. She had always trusted him before, how could she just be in so much denial especially since the idea of Kuon still being present should be more comforting to her. She had also been interested in fairies and fairytales, there had to be some fairytale that he could relate this to.

"It is Kuon, listen the facts are everywhere. All of these people disappearing and all of these cats appearing," he said and then saw Kyoko move awkwardly. "I mean, seriously," Kuu said looking exhausted at having to explain this to her. "Where do you think that I'd have time to get a kitten with Kuon's hair color and eye color?" he asked and Kyoko shifted nervously.

"It's possible," she argued and Kuu felt his jaw drop.

"You've known me for ten years," he said and then heard Kuon mewing, "yet, you want to believe that I grabbed a random kitten, started trying to convince you it was Kuon and that Kuon's body just disappeared. The police didn't find his body," he said and Kuu shook his head. "I can't believe you," he said before looking down, "I'm really disappo-"

"I'm scared," Kyoko said and Kuu turned to her. "Isn't being a kitten worse to him than being dead?" Kyoko asked and Kuu looked at her horrified, staring down at the kitten who was shivering and snuggling closer to him.

"How could you ask me that? He might not stay a kitten forever but he will know that you rejected him when he needs you most, has he ever let you down?" Kuu asked and Kyoko shook her head. She felt that she was a widow, she didn't need for Kuu to lecture her.

"Can I see him?" Kyoko shivered and Kuu went to the staircase and gently took Kuon out from the sling. He saw him stumble a little before he looked up at Kyoko. Kuon still loved her despite not being able to tell her that. He still saw her as the most beautiful person in the world despite his tiny body.

'Kyoko, please I'm begging you to know, princess' Kuon mewed loudly, his emerald eyes begging her to look at him. She stared at him, her body turning pale and her lip trembling. She didn't want to reject him but it still felt as if she was losing him. It was as if he had become someone completely different.

"Do you have his ring?" Kyoko asked Kuu who nodded and went over to a locked safe to retrieve it, he set it down in front of the kitten. "This is yours, right?" Kyoko asked and the kitten nodded as he put his paw over it and sniffed it, he mewed at her sadly. He wouldn't be able to wear it anymore. It was symbolizing the fact that he couldn't be her husband any longer. "Kuon," Kyoko said as she felt a pain in her chest before looking down and sobbing. The kitten looked at her nervously before coming to nuzzle her cheek, he purred as he did so but then tripped over as he tried to reach up. The height difference was beyond amazing now.

"Come here, Corn," she said as she gently cupped her hand around his tiny body and held him to her chest. She looked at Kuu as she moved so that she could embrace Kuon a little more. She saw him bury his tiny head into her chest. She smiled as Kuu handed her the sling and Kyoko put it around her own neck and shoulder. "Come on, my love," she said as she put the wedding ring in her own pocket and made sure Kuon was tightly secure. She looked at him, the tears slipping down her cheeks and she flinched as his eyes turned to a burnt sienna under the light.

She looked to him, trying hard not to let the tears overcome her. "I love you, Kuon," she whispered and he purred as he rubbed his head against her chest. Kuu looked at her with a weak smile. Kuon _needed_ _her_ more than anyone.

"I don't want to go home," Kyoko admitted sadly, "and I'm not ready for the children to know," she turned her attention to her husband, "Don't worry. They'll know eventually, my love," she tried to promise.

Kuu looked to her and reached out a hand, "Then stay here. Anything you need from home we have room for it. Stay with Julie and me. We're always happy to have you."

Kyoko nodded, "Thank you, Kuu-sama," she said the word father leaving a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. She held Kuon closer and tried to breathe so that she wouldn't sob as much.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Kuu asked her as Kyoko pet Kuon again.

"I need to find a bag where I can carry him around," she said with a very weak smile. "I love you," she repeated feeling the pain of losing the human side of him but hopefully he was still _her _Kuon inside that tiny little body.

**End of Chapter Eleven**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Ten**

Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD,


	12. Chapter 12

_Kyoko stared at her blond boyfriend as they took a walk together. She knew this place instinctively, this was home, it was close to the Fuwas but this was Corn's forest, their forest. Kyoko shifted, "Are you sure that it's okay for you not to work today. I mean, I love all the extra attention," she blushed before closing her eyes, "but if you needed to -"_

"_What do you think?" Kuon asked as he gestured to the trees where there were fairy lights around them and rose petals on the ground, Kyoko looked at them and blinked. That seemed a little unusual. There weren't flowers like these around and wasn't this area a little cut off from everywhere else unless it really had changed since they had last been there. She also didn't know why Kuon was wearing a dress shirt and jacket and pant and even a tie and dress shoes when coming to a place like this. His boots would have made much more sense. _

_Dress shoes wouldn't be able to handle the slippery and muddy floors but then Kuon's reaction time was so good anyway and he wouldn't slip and fool unless he got another cold. He took her by the hand and led her to the lake where he had shown her Corn. "Stand right there," he said before leaning down and kissing her. He took a step forward to face her. _

"_Kyoko," he said before getting down on one knee with the moonlight shining upon the two of them._

"_Kuon, what are you doing?" Kyoko asked as she looked around and Kuon's jaw almost dropped. What was he doing? He stared at her. He was on one knee facing her. Wasn't there really only one scenario where doing this deliberately – and not having to readjust clothing or shoes – made sense. Was she still that clueless about love._

"_I'm asking you to marry me," he said, "but I'd like to formally ask you," he said as Kyoko turned completely pale. "Kyoko Mogami, you are…you are my light, my love, my princess. You have guided me through the darkness and have brought joy to my life. I don't feel as if I have proven my worth as your boyfriend but I intend to each day as your fiancée and your husband. I would love to be able to spend the rest of my life with you. Kyoko," he smiled as he took out an engagement ring with pink and white gems on the band but the main gem was just like a smaller Corn stone. "Will you marry me?"_

**Chapter Twelve**

Kyoko looked down to the sleeping ball of fluff at her side, she gently let her finger graze against the tiny kitten's ear and looked at the printed out piece of paper in front of her. She felt sick. All of these people getting turned into cats and their loved ones taking them to shelters. She was glad that Kuu had found Kuon. She would have never forgiven herself had he been euthanized.

Her hand slowly moved over his belly as she saw the rise and fall meaning that he was giving strong breaths. He had always tried to look out for her and take care of her. That had been the case as Corn as well. Even that ten-year-old boy wanted to make sure she was as happy as possible. She had to be the one to take care of _him_ now.

"Hi," she said as she heard him snore with very tiny squeaks. "I'm going to wrap you in the blanket again," she said and Kuon opened his very sleepy emerald eyes and looked around. He was disoriented, still not used to being a kitten and wishing that he didn't have to spend the rest of his life this way. She moved him over to the box which she had spent a little time decorating and had quickly sewn him a small pillow that was the size of his tiny body. "I'm sorry," she whispered as he blinked feeling exhausted.

"I love you, Kuon," she said before hearing him yawn again. He was so delicate and fragile. She had to make sure to take care of him.

As she held tight to her own pillow she looked at the bottle and a notebook of when she had last fed him. It would be a couple of weeks until he was ready to transition but Kyoko didn't want to give him cat food. She wanted to treat him and spoil him, the same way that he had always tried to spoil her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again as she tried to breathe. If it hadn't been for her then Kuon would still be acting, he'd still be human. It was because of her that he was so tiny and weak. She had to admit though that he was still gorgeous, he was still her amazing husband despite being in a tiny kitten body. She just couldn't be romantic with him in his current condition. After rejecting love for so long, Kuon had helped her believe in it again and now she was being tested in his helping her regain that old part of her.

…..

…..

Kyoko's eyes widened as she heard the alarm on her phone, she had fallen asleep. She sat up and went to the cooler to get the milk and put it on her wrist just like she did for Rikuu. She would check on Rikuu in a moment although Kuu had said that he'd take care of him and Aurora. "Hey, it's feeding time again," Kyoko whispered as she took the tiny nozzle and pressed it to his tiny lips. He latched to it and began suckling.

"I'm really really sorry," Kyoko apologized once again. She saw him drink all of the kitten formula and gently dabbed at his mouth. He could barely do anything for himself anymore. Even things that regular cats did, he was too young to do.

Picking him up very gently, Kyoko brought the kitten to her chest and was comforted by hearing his purring. She wanted to at least provide him with the best life possible but really she wanted to turn him back into her husband, the human version of her husband. Kuon looked at her. He felt weird in her arms. He felt strange as she fed him from a bottle as if he were one of their children. He hadn't wanted this for her but he couldn't do anything about it. Hopefully this wouldn't be for very long.

…

…

Kyoko had woken up every three hours on schedule so that she could make sure Kuon had enough food to sustain his little kitten body. She was worried about him. What if she messed up on taking care of him? She had never taken care of an animal before in her life – no, Kuon wasn't an animal, he wasn't a pet. He was something much different and much more special. Kuon was _her_ husband. Kitten or not, this was the man whom she had chosen to marry.

As Julie came down the stairs, she saw Kyoko with the sling on and smiled weakly to the two of them. Kyoko looked up at her mother-in-law before turning to look down upon the sleeping kitten. Julie moved forwards curiously and Kyoko moved so that Julie could take a look at the tiny body.

"I'm sickened," Kyoko admitted as she looked down and then back at the TV where it was announcing the mysterious absence of Kuon and how many people considered him as the latest victim of this serial killer. Kyoko wanted to help these people before they euthanized their loved ones but they thought that Kuon was dead or at least that he was cold and starving and barely struggling to stay alive. She felt horrible but she couldn't risk his life. She was too selfish to do so.

"I wish there was some way of helping them," Julie said and Kyoko instinctively shifted and pulled kitten Kuon closer to her chest. He yawned and blinked around before returning to his nap.

"I'm sorry, Julie-san," Kyoko said as she closed her eyes and bowed her head, a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "I'm not strong enough to do so," she said before thinking about any kittens that weren't killed. They had given Sean's "widow" the kitten with a piece of his clothing. She had taken him in as her own but still wasn't sure of the connection between the kitten and her husband. Maybe since the gang knew that he was alive, they would be able to risk the media finding out about Sean. Kyoko even had his number somewhere.

"Maybe there is something that I can do but I still need to keep Kuon hidden. They can't find him. He'll get hurt if they know that he's with me. They want something from me but I'm not sure what."

"They want something from you?" Julie asked and Kyoko froze, should she have said that? Should she have taken blame for what happened to Kuon. "What do you -"

"There's something that I need to do," Kyoko told her and Julie nodded very slowly. There had to be some type of work file that Kuon had which would give her Sean's information. Maybe if there were enough people then they could stand a chance against the gang. There had to be some sort of punishment for turning people into kittens.

…

…

Angela, Sean's wife, crouched down next to the grey kitten as she put a plate of tuna on the ground for him. She turned to him and felt the tears slip down her cheeks. "Here, my love" she whispered as she let her hand go through the kitten's fur. "Eat up. You like the tuna fish, right?" she asked and the cat nodded to her before delivering three meows which sounded like her name.

Angela looked down as she knelt, watching him eat the food. "I love you, Sean," she whispered to the kitten who turned to her very sadly and then nuzzled her chin, purring loudly. Angela ruffled the fur on his head and then scratched him gently behind the ear as she tried not to sob in pain at the thought of losing the human side of her husband.

Without expecting it, the home phone rang and Sean looked over with some pieces of tuna still on his kitty lips.

"I wonder who that is," Angela said before seeing Sean watching her. "Sean, my love, you finish your breakfast. I'll take care of this. I think it's going to be really cute when you're all plump and chubby," she teased him as she kissed the top of his head. "I'll be right back," she said before dabbing at her eyes to catch the tears.

Angela got to the phone and picked it up, "Hello, Angela speaking, who's calling?" Angela looked over at Sean as he finished the plate of tinned tuna and started to lap up the water. She was scared of leaving him alone. She was scared of people finding out the truth.

"This is Kyoko Hizuri," Kyoko said with slow breaths, "I wanted to talk to you about your husband."

"Well, we have the funeral plans all set," Angela said as she saw Sean go over to a toy ball and start batting it with his paw. As adorable as it was, it was also heartbreaking to her. She still kept communication with him using large letters of the alphabet that she had bought. It had been advertised as a learning tool for children but she had learned that this was a way she could speak to Sean.

"I know that he's still alive, I know what happened to him," Kyoko said as she tried to persuade Angela to listen to her.

"I doubt it," Angela said before seeing the ball roll under one of the kitchen counters, she saw Sean trying to reach it with his paw but he didn't seem to be able to do so. Angela stepped into the kitchen and bent down, getting the ball for him to play with. Sean looked up at her nervously and Angela rolled the ball to him, he rolled it back to her and she repeated the action. "Listen whatever you think that you know-"

"I know he's a cat," Kyoko said and Angela paused, her body shaking before she hung up the phone and broke down into sobs. Sean stopped playing and came towards her. He looked up at her and meowed, hating to see her pain. He was maybe a month or so older than Kuon was.

"Come here, darling," Angela said and Sean climbed up onto her lap. "I'm not letting anyone take you from me. I promised you my heart, my soul, my love when we got married. I'm not going to let some entitled girl to take you away from me."

Angela kissed Sean's fluffy forehead a few times, not realizing that the reason behind the call was Kyoko's desire to help them.

**End of Chapter Twelve**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Eleven**

Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD

**AN: I really hope you didn't dislike the ending part. I wanted to show what had happened to Sean and give Kyoko someone to interact with when it comes to trying to cure Kuon.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Kuu watched as the tiny kitten-Kuon tried to walk across the counter. Kuu was watching him so closely so that if he stumbled he wouldn't fall off of the side. As cute as Kuon was, it was incredibly hard for Kuu to watch his son this way. Still, if the worst situation was possible and Kuon was stuck as a cat for the rest of his life then Kuu wanted to make sure he had all of the abilities that a cat needed and walking independently was one of them.

"Kuon," he said as he knelt opposite the tiny kitten. He saw Kuon turn to look at him with those adorable emerald eyes and he gave a very soft squeak. "Hey, my little sun shine," he said as he gently petted Kuon with his finger tip. "Can you understand me?" he asked and Kuon mewed with his tiny squeak but nodded slowly. "You let me know when you feel tired."

Kuu continued kneeling in front of Kuon and then when the tiny kitten's legs gave out on him and he tripped, Kuu was careful about lifting him up in a protective manner and bringing him to his chest, putting him in the little sling so he could curl up to his chest. "I'll get your bottle," he said and saw Kyoko standing there in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm ready to have him back now," she said and Kuu felt something inside of him trying to claw out. It was his overprotectiveness. They had attempted to kill his kid and he wanted to protect him as his daddy but Kyoko had a point, she was still considered Kuon's wife legally although she was more considered as his widow these days.

"I can spend some more time with him," Kuu said. "He's sleepy. He needs his rest."

"You don't trust me not to look after him when he's sleepy?" Kyoko asked before sighing as she sat down at one of the chairs at the table. She leaned up so she could see the tiny kitten who was pushing his paw against his face as if to clean himself. She felt the tears in her eyes before her own protective nature came to the surface. "You don't even know how to give him his bottle properly," she accused Kuu as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kuu felt sorry for her but he shook his head, turning to the side. No, he knew that his heart was softening but he wanted to spend some more time with her boy. "Don't think that I was a good-for-nothing father," he said firmly. "There were often times when I was with my infant son and Julie wasn't here. I made sure to never make a mistake so big that I couldn't protect Kuon from it. I gave him his bottle numerous times. I made sure that he could suck out the milk that Julie had prepared for him. I know you love him but are you forgetting that I'm his father."

Kyoko bowed her head and sighed. She didn't mean to get angry at Kuu, after all he was struggling with this as well. Kuon was his son. Kuon was important in both of their lives, not just hers but that didn't mean that she wanted for Kuu to take the responsibility of his care from her. "I'm sorry, Father" she whispered as she smiled weakly. "I just want to make sure that he's taken care of. I think that I might be able to find a cure for him and a cure for all the people who are hurting but I need Kuon to be with me for it to happen."

Kuu sat down next to her and picked up the bottle, making sure that the tiny kitten was able to drink the kitten formula inside as he turned to Kyoko with a very questioning expression on his face. What was her plan and how would this affect their lives? It wasn't only him and Kyoko who wanted to protect Kuon, in either one of their absences, Julie would be there with her mama bear instincts.

"What do you mean you need Kuon to be with you? He can't defend himself in this condition," Kuu tried to tell her and Kyoko nodded. That was true but she wanted him to be back to his regular human state. Even if that never happened, she would never be able to find a love who was better than him and in that case she wanted the little kitten not to stray from her.

"I think that if I bring him to someone close to my father," Kyoko said and Kuu's eyes widened before narrowing in anger. He pulled Kuon closer to him and stared down. He shook his head not knowing wha to say.

"No," he said as he shivered and his face turned extremely pale. "What are you talking about?"

"If we bring enough of these cats who were once people together then we can discover something that might -" Kyoko tried to reason with Kuu whose body was still a startling white. He shook his head not knowing what to say but he stood and took a few steps away from her.

"Kyoko, no," he said as he made sure the sling was securely on with kitten-Kuon inside. "No. I'm sorry but no. They think that Kuon is dead, until we're close to discovering a cure please let it stay that way."

Kyoko looked down. First Sean's wife wouldn't help her and now Kuu was keeping Kuon from her out of fear that she would lead him to get injured even further. Kyoko had to believe that Kuon didn't enjoy being a cat. Turning him human again was in his best interests. How could she do that without the kitten in her reach.

…

…

"_Daddy!" a young Kuon smiled as he ate the lunch that Kuu had made him. Kuu had to admit that there was a difference between when he fed the three-year-old boy and when he and Julie made food together. Julie was the one who would often stuff his mouth full and Kuu would eat whatever leftovers remained on his son's plate. He grinned at Kuon as he saw the boy pointing out of the window. "Look."_

_Kuu raised his head and saw that there was a stray cat making its way along the fence in their back yard. He laughed. "Yes, I see," he nodded as he ruffled Kuon's blond hair and kissed his son on the top of his head. Kuon giggled at that. "It's a cat. I wonder where he's off to," he said and Kuon smiled._

"_He go'in home?" he asked with a tilt of his head._

"_Maybe, I'm sure that he lives near here," Kuu hummed as he watched the kitten. He noticed some of the birds that often came to the birdhouse in their back yard. Kuu and Julie were both fans of nature and were thrilled that Kuon had taken the same fascination. When they went camping when Kuon was a little older it would be a fun experience for all of them. As for now, playing at home and in the back yard would have to do._

"_Yeah," Kuon nodded as he ate the sandwich. _

_Kuu looked at the cat and the birds and saw the cat jump towards the flock of them, he pinned one of the birds down with his paw and bit his neck making the bird go limp in front of Kuon. Kuu shifted awkwardly as he looked into those tiny emerald eyes. He didn't know how to explain to his little boy that the bird was now dead. He didn't want the three-year-old to cry but this might be an important teaching moment._

"_The bird go sleep?" Kuon asked and Kuu saw the little boy put down his sandwich, his eyes showing how he didn't understand what was happening. He sighed and pulled Kuon into his arms. He got a damp cloth and wiped at his face, getting the crumbs off of his cheeks. _

"_The bird became dinner for the cat," Kuu said directly and Kuon looked up at him still confused about what was going on. "That's how the cat got lunch. It's okay because now the cat is strong. The bird…helped the cat get strong. Make sense?" he asked and Kuon sat on Kuu's lap for a while looking up at him and not blinking. Finally Kuon nodded. Kuu had a feeling that it was just because his son trusted him. Death was a hard thing to try to explain to a little kid, murder even more so. _

…

…

Kyoko took a deep breath as she looked at her children who were asleep on the bed. She didn't know how a life with them would work if Kuon was a cat. Were they supposed to just be comfortable with the new life that their father had adopted. They needed a father and she wanted them to have their true father, the man who knew just what to do and say in the more troubling situations.

Kuu had kept Kuon away from her, scared that she would do something to risk his life but he couldn't possibly be enjoying this type of a life. He was a tiny kitten and he was even too small a kitten to behave like a cat. Someone needed to take care of him at all times.

Maybe the right thing would be to trust Kuu-sama and leave Kuon in his protective care until he was a little bigger. Kyoko felt tears in her eyes. _She_ wanted to be the one who would have the most time with Kuon even as a kitten but she needed to let her selfishness take a back seat to Kuon. Kuon needed to be her priority.

Kyoko walked down to the living room and saw Kuu feeding Kuon once again. She walked over to them and saw that Kuu was facing the window. She saw the way that Kuu was watching a bird who had flown into the back yard and from time to time the tiny kitten's eyes would flicker that way again. Kyoko felt tears in her eyes and she walked over to the two of them.

"Father," she whispered, the word having a weird taste in her mouth since it had been her own father who had caused for Kuon to have to suffer through this. Kyoko kept her head bowed. "I have a favor to ask you. I hope that it isn't too much to ask of you."

Kuu looked up at Kyoko since Kuon had seemed to have enough of the kitten formula, he very gently dabbed at the kitten's mouth. Not knowing what to say to Kyoko, Kuu nodded slowly and silently. Kyoko pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

"Father, you love Kuon as he is, don't you?" she asked and Kuu looked at the kitten.

"No matter what, I love my son with my whole heart. I will continue loving my son unconditionally."

Kyoko stared at him and then turned to Kuon, her heart was breaking as she felt that this was the plan that was most in Kuon's best interests. "Can you take care of him for me?" she asked. "I still love him unconditionally and I will be here with him as much as possible but what I'm planning, you're right, until he's bigger and stronger, he can't be a part of it."

**End of Chapter Thirteen**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Twelve

Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD


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